HopeTale Season 2
by FilledWithHope
Summary: Serif's story continues. The Destroyers' disappearance has brought the Multiverse peace. Serif's family is safe. Yet a sense of dread grows. Danger is near. A new enemy marks the sudden onset of war, and this time, Serif is the target. He can't protect people he loves and the AUs with a target on his back. A hidden plan, danger, an impossible adversary. The fight isn't over yet.
1. HopeTale S2 - Forward

**HopeTale Season 2 - Forward**

PLEASE READ. ANNOUNCEMENT AND CONTENT WARNING.

Welcome back, reader! Thanks for coming! Before you continue, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE READ SEASON ONE OF HOPETALE. Elsewise, nearly nothing will make sense, and the next few paragraphs will spoil it for you. Go read, then come on back; this will be closer to completion by the time you're ready!

So, yes; you read the title right.

**_I present, by extremely popular demand…_**

**_HopeTale Season 2: _Spero._**

But, before you begin, I have a message:

I must confess, I have been agonizing over how I would explain my long absence. But, I realize… I don't quite need to. I'm back now. And I am so grateful to you, for still being here.

I hope you know by now, but if you haven't seen my bio or other posts, I am saved by grace. I've not only been forgiven all the times I failed horrifically and fell so far, but—! I've been given a massive blessing also! I'm loved and free! I am a Christian, and Jesus saved me from myself when I was so self-destructive and despairing. It fills me with such peace, joy, hope! I've got so much love I wanna share it with you.

I might have just lost a few of you, but hi if you're still here. Even so, I wanted to say it, 'cause I wouldn't be here without Him.

**That takes me to the content warning.** Season 2 is intense. Check the top of each chapter for **possible trigger warnings**. My standards remain; no foul language, sexual content, or excessive violence/gore. There is, though, some Mildly Disturbing/Violent content, and, a new warning:

If you are greatly struggling with anxiety or suicidal depression right now, please proceed with caution. _But this is the very reason I write Season 2. _That is the message I came back to give. It's been a while coming, but it's worth it. I write with the purpose of inspiring hope and peace. If it gets dark, it will pick back up again. Regardless, please note the warnings. No matter what you're going through, what you're facing, whatever shattered your world— it's not over till it's over, and there is a hope that's waiting for you.

Lastly, I'm thinking I won't necessarily do art for _every single chapter_, and if/when I do, they will be slow in coming. I can't promise regular posting, but I can tell you I am _writing _regularly, so when I do post, it should be good. Thank you 3

If you read this far, thank you! I bless you with a gummy worm ~~'. Follow to join the SmolSparrowSquad! Stay hopeful, be inspired, and don't give up.

~FilledWithHope


	2. Prologue - Hollow Souls

**_Prologue- Hollow Souls_**

Error waited. Time didn't pass in the Anti-Void. Sometimes these months of searching felt like days. Sometimes they felt like years. He had nursed this plan of vengeance for so long. It would soon begin. It was only a matter of time. So he waited.

Eventually, there was a slight noise. It brought a dangerous grin to Error's face. He turned. Nightmare had returned.

"Found it," Nightmare grunted. Error came up to him, a sinister smile in his flashing eyes.

"At lAsT…" he breathed. "WeLl, dO ShOW. I caN't wAIt To seE THe sPeciAL liTtLe SnoWfLaKE." There was a bite in his voice.

Nightmare had been shifting his knotted tentacles behind his back agitatedly, but now brought them forward. He held the dripping black mass up for Error to see as two of the tentacles uncoiled. As the tar oozed away, gradually, a smallish skeleton became visible. It stared blankly ahead, seemingly unalarmed. It was a Sans, a mere clone of Classic. The only distinguishing characteristics were the shorter stature, slight difference in jacket, the obvious lack of a soul, and…

"AnD tHe sigNaTUre?" Error challenged. "ArE yOu sUrE tHiS iS ThE rIGht One?"

"Yeah," Nightmare affirmed. "It's him alright."

"ProOf?" Error pressed. "ScReW tHiS uP aND I'll sEnd YOu sEarcHiNg All oVeR aGAin."

Murmuring veiled threats and curses, Nightmare turned the catatonic skeleton around and drew the tar away from its back, lifting the jacket and shirt up with it. There was no doubt.

"WEll dOnE," Error said simply.

Searching for something in one of his pockets, Error approached the captive. Finding what he was looking for, Error dangled a hollow glass soul on the end of a string. The empty Sans had been aimlessly glancing around, but now his vacant gaze landed on the pendant. His eyes widened slightly. The coils tightened as he moved.

"LeT HiM trY," Error chuckled. After a slight hesitation, Nightmare loosened the tentacles.

The Sans managed to free his arm from the bonds. He reached weakly forward, listlessly grabbing for the necklace. Snickering, Error taunted the prisoner, holding the prize just out of his reach. Then, as the weak one seemed to tire of trying, Error suddenly thrust the pendant forward. Instantly, the glass-like upside-down heart was absorbed into the space behind the skeleton's ribs.

The tiniest spark lit in his eyes. He blinked. Slight confusion could now be seen in his face. Just as the Sans began to adapt to this new situation, Error yanked the chord, the hollow soul un-fusing. Quietly whimpering—the first sound it'd made—the small skele started reaching for it again.

"PaTHetIc," Error decided. Turning to Nightmare, he said—"GiVe Me yOuR sOul."

"What?" Nightmare growled, taking a step back.

"I oNly nEeD it FoR a seCoNd," Error calmly insisted, as if this wasn't such a bizarre request. "AnD nOt tHAt FakE DEcoY YoU MaDe to TrICk NeW pRotECTorS." Nightmare scoffed.

"As if! No. Look, I don't know what you're planning, but I'm not—" There was a flurry of motion. Rigid spikes of primary blue threads shot forward from all directions, stopping but an inch from Nightmare's skull. Error gave a calm, chilling smile.

"I OnLy NeEd iT fOr a sEcONd," Error repeated. "EiTHeR yOu foRm iT, oR I bReAK YoUr bONes uNtiL iT aBAnDonS shIp." The dark skeleton shifted.

For a soulless creature to extract a physical soul out of their body was a taxing endeavor and made them dangerously vulnerable. But Nightmare didn't doubt Error's threat; he hesitantly complied.

"I don't trust you…" he murmured. The pitch black soul was pinged away before he had a chance to reconsider. As insurance, Nightmare raised a spike of his own to the oblivious Sans's head, who was still sluggishly pawing for the pendant.

"YoU neEdN't tHreAtEn mE," Error sighed boredly. He summoned a super thin blue attack. "ReLAx," Error said. "ThiS wOn'T huRt… mUcH."

Suddenly he sent the needle shooting through the dark soul, barbing a piece out. Nightmare hissed in pain, the tip of the tentacle inadvertently booping the Sans in the back of the skull; he ignored it.

"Error, the heck—!?"

"YoU'll gET iT bAcK," Error assured, releasing Nightmare's soul. "WE'll ReClaiM tHe pieCes WhEn it iS aLL oVeR."

Retrieving a small containment orb from his pocket, Error pinged two more shards from it and held the glass pendant near the pieces. The shards were absorbed. Nightmare frowned at the other two pieces. One seemed to be glitching slightly, dark blue and red. Error's magic, obviously. But the other…?

"Purple and red?" Nightmare asked. "Is that psychopathic murderer in on this plan of yours?"

"DuStSaNs?" Error asked. "No. HIs coNtrIBuTiOn waS… uNwiLliNg. ThE aRtiFicIAl soUl nEedeD HiGh LeVels Of ViolEncE. OtHerWIse, tHe aSseT woUlD onLy hAvE 1 HeaLlth POiNt AnD 1 AtTacK—fAr tOo wEak." At this information, Nightmare smiled dangerously. He was beginning to understand.

Error dangled the soul before the hostage again. After a minute of cruel teasing, the Sans stopped reaching and stared at the pendant wistfully, as if he knew this was merely a game he'd never win.

"It feElS goOd, dOeSn'T iTt?" Error goaded. "To hAve A sOuL?" The Sans stared blankly at the Destroyer. A grin cracked up Error's face. "YoU wAnT tHIs? YoU CAn hAvE iT." He held the pendant out.

Sluggishly, the small skele reached forward one more time. Error didn't pull the soul back. Hesitantly, the Sans took it. Holding it close, he stared at it, blinking slowly. The soul was drawn towards the empty space and absorbed back into his chest. The awareness returned to his vacant gaze. Emotion etched into his expression. But this time, it was different. He appeared… disconcerted. The white light in his eyes flickered through a few disturbing shades of crimson, yellow, and purple.

Beaming elatedly, Error raised his hand, summoning threads, and wrapped the Sans into a blue cage. Little noises of distress could be heard from inside, but neither villain paid it any notice.

"At ThIS raTe, PhAse oNE wilL soOn bE coMPlEte," Error said.

"Now what?" Nightmare asked as the two started towards the more heavily string-cluttered part of the Anti-Void. "There have been so many different ones," he murmured, eyes shifting between the limp blue cages littering the air—all dust-bathed and empty. "I can't imagine how all this will deliver what you promised. Follow through, or I'll ruin you," he growled.

"YoU'LL hAvE yOUr ReVenGE," Error assured. "TrUsT mE jUsT a lITtlE BIt lOngER." Nightmare huffed a resigned sigh, the allure of the reward drawing him on.

"Fine. What errand are you gonna send me on next?" A psychotic smile spread across Error's face.

"ThAt WaS thE lAsT OnE," he breathed, intense anticipation lacing his voice. "NoW wE wAIt. We WaIt fOr OuR CatErpiLLaR to TuRn iNtO a ButTerFlY."


	3. Chapter 1 - Life's New Story

**_Chapter 1- Life's New Story_**

Earsplitting, unholy electronic screams jolted me from slumber. On instinct, I rolled. Speed would determine the victor. I reached as far as I could—my foot was caught—and slammed my hand down over the alarm clock while simultaneously face planting off the side of the bed. I popped back up, poking my head over the edge of the side table.

"mine!" I earnestly exclaimed in triumph.

"NO, THAT WAS ME! I HIT IT FIRST!" Papyrus insisted, springing up from the far bed.

"nu-uh, that was definitely my point." Papyrus playfully screwed up his face at this. I kicked away the blankets wrapped around my ankle and pulled myself up. "let's see."

Moving over to inspect the double-button alarm clock I'd rigged up, I flipped a switch on the side. We both leaned in close. The screen flickered from "6:30 A.M." to the buzz-in times.

"told ya," I said, grinning. "defeated by a mere 0.17 seconds." I let out a mock sigh. "you're getting a little faster. better luck tomorrow."

"A LITTLE?! THAT WAS PRACTICALLY A TIE!" Papyrus argued while we scrambled around the tiny room, grabbing, tossing, and receiving stuff we'd need for the day.

"true. but i still won," I teased, intensifying the brotherly competition. My faithful teal jacket—which I needed anyway—came flying. I caught it. "thanks," I said. "anyway, this takes me into the lead by two, now," I pointed out, balling up Pap's cheerful orange scarf and tossing it to him.

"ENJOY IT WHILE IT LASTS, BECAUSE IT WON'T LAST LONG," Papyrus insisted, grinning. I grinned, too.

"noted," I said, kicking into my pale yellow slippers. "welp, i'm gonna go claim the prize. see ya at breakfast."

Our alarm clock was always the first to go off, by four whole minutes. This meant, whoever "woke up" first got to wake the children. Marching down the hall, I debated my options. Gotta make it good. Settling on my decision, I pulled open the colorfully finger-painted door, strode across the floor, and flung open the curtains.

"rise and shine, kiddos!" I exclaimed enthusiastically. "it's hump day!" With that, I took a running leap onto Asriel's bed. The mattress shuddered, and the goat child let out a surprised, bleating shriek as he was launched a couple inches into the air; perfect.

"Sans," he murmured tiredly with a hint of annoyance, muzzle scrunching in a yawn. "Must you?"

"yes," I replied. "you sleep like a rock. and this is nicer than my second idea; i was gonna get lark up and let her tickle you awake," I admitted. Just as these words left my mouth, Lark pounced, flying over the gap between the beds, and landed on my back. "morning lil' monkey," I teased as she avidly started poking my shoulders and sides. "sorry lark. unlike paps, i don't have a _funny_ _bone_." Lark giggled a little at this.

"can i still tickle azzie?" she asked hopefully, her sweet voice quiet as ever.

"No need!" Asriel exclaimed, catching her words, leaping out of bed. "I'm up!" He promptly snagged his school uniform from the chair and darted for the door, doubtless trying to beat anyone else to the single bathroom—along with avoiding death-by-tickle.

Asriel was free. He didn't remember his life as a flower; he didn't even remember my involvement in the whole matter, apart from being "found" by me when he first awoke. I'd manipulated the composition of the soul I'd gotten him so he would forget. With shards of human souls, a hollow, artificial monster soul, and some DT extract—the mass held together. Now it was Asriel's, for him to fill as he pleased. He would find his own soul qualities, now.

Lark clambered off my back, selected her ribbon and brush from the cluttered side table, and held them out to me.

"help?" she requested, blinking the sleepy haze out of her golden eyes.

"sure thing, lark," I answered, smiling.

Sitting her in front of me, I carefully started deconstructing the bird's nest in her hair while she quietly chattered. Her sentences were short yet impressively vivid as she described the night's dreams and her hopes for a hearty breakfast. Pretty soon, both kids were ready for the day, and scampered down the stairs towards the smell of pancakes.

Upon leaving the underground, most monsters found themselves without a place to call home. No one, in their wildest dreams, would consider going back down there to live, so we banded together. Practically every monster was part of what we called "the family system." If planned right, a single house could shelter six to nine people.

We were all lavishly blessed, really. Our group consisted of myself, Papyrus, Lark, Asriel, Toriel, and Asgore. Two upstairs bedrooms—plus what must have been an office—fit all five beds. One bathroom, one closet, and one rickety yet faithful AC system shared the top floor.

The downstairs kitchen was little more than a one-car garage in size, and despite boasting most of the typical kitchen appliances, the pizza delivery man had become a frequent visitor. Besides it was a cozy living room, shelved with countless marvelous books, cluttered with beloved toys, and blest by a comfortable couch and box TV. The kid's book bags hung neatly by the door, and beyond it, bright buttercups grew in the makeshift garden. The rest of our friends were spread out across the neighborhood. School was a couple blocks away, about a 10 minute stroll—or 10 seconds if I took a shortcut. There was a library, grocery store, and public swimming pool relatively close by, all within walking distance.

Home sweet home.

Halfway down the stairs, I picked out Toriel's and Papyrus's chattering from the kitchen as they pulled together the last elements of breakfast. Following the young ones to the table, I slid into the seat between Asgore and Lark, who was getting a lesson on how to balance a spoon on her nose from Asriel.

"Good morning, Sans," Asgore greeted cheerily, glancing up from the newspaper. "It is a lovely day, is it not?"

"it really is. not a cloud in the sky," I agreed. His smile grew. We discussed the week's weather and recent news, until—

"Breakfast," Toriel called out in a sing-song voice, "is ready!"

A lovely breakfast of pancakes later, Lark and Asriel scrambled to brush their teeth and grab their books. Toriel stopped them long enough to hand over their lunches. The three of us called out our farewells, and we headed toward the bus stop. As soon as we were out of sight of the house, I grinned and asked—

"ready?" Lark and Asriel nodded excitedly, both hugging to me. The trek was cut blissfully short as I teleported us all to the schoolyard.

"You're the best, Sans," Asriel said. "This is much better than the bus." Lark nodded in agreement—her eyes now closed. My gaze lingered on her a second before I grinned.

"thanks. glad to hear i _goat_ your vote of approval." Lark giggled a little, and Asriel looked as though he nearly choked on a wad of bubblegum.

"Well, you don't have it anymore…" he murmured, but I could see the teasing light in his eyes. Letting the grin out, Asriel turned towards the middle school building. "See you later Lark. Bye Sans!" We answered in farewell. Turning to the elementary sector, I took Lark's hand and started for the doors.

"got your lunch?" I asked. She nodded, holding the bag up in proof. "pinksy?" She dug a well-loved, magical immortal eraser from her pocket, displaying it proudly in her palm; it was one of many artistic gifts from Ink. "necklace?"

"always," Lark affirmed. I grinned.

"just checking. i'll pick you up at three, ok?" She nodded excitedly, and then sighed—whether happily or sadly, I couldn't tell—and, pocketing Pinksy the Beloved Eraser, she skipped towards her classroom. I watched her go, sighing myself, then strolled off.

Lark didn't show her eyes in public. It didn't matter how much we told her, she still wasn't convinced they were beautiful. True, golden irises were unusual, but that didn't mean she was weird. She didn't talk much, either. Her voice was well known at home, but the moment she stepped out the door she became a shy violet.

From what I'd gathered… based on her behaviors and habits… I sensed she may have been abused when she was younger. It made me so mad—livid, even. Being the merciful child she was, Lark was lucky I couldn't seem to track down her former caretakers. Because if I ever found them, they'd be doomed where they stood for laying a finger on my kiddo. I'd make sure they rotted in jail.

Shaking off these frustrations, I went back to being content. She'd made a friend at school, apparently. 3rd grade was the first "real" year of "real" school, and I was glad she didn't endure it alone.

On top of all this, she was truly safe now. She never took the protector necklace off, not even for a second. Since it was magic, it wasn't in danger of getting damaged. The residual curse to bear bad karma that wasn't hers was null in light of the pendant's powers. I was still her guardian angel, but now I didn't have to stick as close as her shadow to keep her alive.

The rest of the family didn't understand what a blessing the necklace was. They didn't know about its importance, since explaining it would require explaining the Alternate Universes. Papyrus, Lark, and I decided it would be wise to keep silent about the Multiverse; usually, breaking fourth walls doesn't go smoothly. For being such a young child, Lark was a surprisingly good secret keeper.

_speaking of the multiverse…_ I glanced at my watch. 7:17. A smile grew across my face. I had roughly 8 hours. Wednesdays were Multiverse days. Casually wandering around a corner, I slipped into the shadows. Pulling the portal pendant from under my jacket, I formed a golden protection bubble around myself and shattered the glass heart. Teal paint rapidly filled the bubble. It was up to my knees, waist, chest, neck, head—the bubble popped.

I dropped into the Doodle Sphere beside Blueberry, who was intently watching Ink and Dream fly at each other's throats from beneath a containment field.

"heya blue," I greeted, sitting beside him. He spent me a quick glance to flash a bright smile my way.

"Hi Serif! Good timing, the tussle is starting to get intense," he explained, turning his complete attention back to the vicious fight. After a moment of silence—"And Ink swipes his paint brush! It's blocked by an impressive parry from Dream. There's a battle of the wills—Dream swings a sudden side-kick! Ink goes tumbling! Unexpected!" Grinning, I joined in the Blueberry Commentary™.

"that caught ink off guard, but—he rolls! he's on his feet again! dream's coming in fast… ink springs back—! is he gonna make it?" There was a flurry of motion.

"Oh! How clever!" Blue praised.

"yes, genius!" I agreed.

"Ink sidesteps Dream's strike and grabs his staff—he's flung him off balance!" Blueberry explained as if I hadn't just seen it for myself.

"i certainly didn't see that coming; did you, referee blueberry?"

"Not at all, Judge Serif. Things are getting interesting."

"all y'all folks listening in today are sure in for a treat," I interjected, earning a giggle from Blue.

"Dream's back up!" he exclaimed.

"he's got a _bone to pick_ with ink now." We both snorted at this.

"They're locked in a struggle. Ink strikes at Dream with his brush—miss!—but he flips the momentum and comes at him with the other end!"

"dream sees the motion. he swings a blow of his own—he's disarmed ink!

"It's over for the Artist, now!"

Sure enough, Dream had his staff tapping at Ink's neck, panting for breath yet grinning triumphantly. Ink, also obviously worn out, stuck his hands in the air, a resigned sigh in his expression. Dream pulled the rod away and lightly bopped him on the head; the nearly invisible magic armor shimmered as it blocked the damage.

"_WINNER!_" Blueberry passionately exclaimed, leaping up and punching the air.

"nice one, dream," I congratulated, following Blue over to the other two Star Sanses as the protection dome disintegrated. Dream grinned teasingly.

"Thanks! It's, ah, only my… _fourth_ win in a row," he prompted, nudging Ink lightly, who seemed a tad-bit irked.

"Whatever," he murmured. "It won't happen again." Dream chuckled at this.

"You said that last time." That earned him a half-frown. "Come on Ink, it's just practice," Dream pointed out. "A bit off your game today?" Ink waved his hand dismissively.

"Guess I'm a little tired." He suddenly pointed at Dream confidently. "So enjoy your wins while you can; it won't be so easy tomorrow."

"Really?" Dream challenged eagerly. "I'm pretty sure I'm actually—" Blueberry shoved between the two friends.

"You guys can bicker later. It's my turn now!" he exclaimed excitedly. Ink and Dream cast him a weary glance, but then grinned in relief and shared a chuckle when a shimmer of magic encased me instead.

"_me?_" I balked. "you want to spar with me, blue?" Blueberry nodded enthusiastically.

"Yes! It will be fun!"

"_'__fun'?_" I mouthed to Ink; he shrugged casually and tried to suppress a smile. Blueberry stood tall and proud—well, as tall as he could.

"I, the Magnificent Blueberry, challenge you to a duel, Serif!" he exclaimed, boldly pointing. A glance at the others said he wasn't joking. I sized Blue up. _but_, my mind argued, _i've never seen him summon an aggressive attack; it'd be a slaughter. and, he's so small…_

"i… don't wanna battle you," I admitted. I suppose Blueberry saw me check him, but didn't catch my drift.

"Mweh! I wouldn't wanna fight me either!" Blue exclaimed, forming the protection dome. "But Ink and Dream are too tired, and learning to play nice is important!"

"He means learning to defend yourself," Dream interjected, sitting beside Ink outside the containment field. Blueberry summoned a long bone staff in his hand.

"i don't wanna injure you," I insisted lamely, beginning to realize Blue was set on this.

"Don't worry, it won't hurt! It's completely safe! Anyway, you've brought your HP up, so even if we accidentally broke through the shields, neither of our hits would be fatal!"

Yes, I had 22 HP now. Before Lark came, it didn't matter if I had 1 or 100. The genocidal hacker could kill me with a single hit regardless. But now that threat was gone. And I had things to live for.

Blueberry took battle stance; he still wasn't intimidating in the least. Sighing, I reluctantly did the same.

"as long as you're absolutely sure i can't harm you," I murmured. Blue gave a nod.

"Absolutely positive! And don't worry, I'll spare you…" he assured, smiling innocently, then dangerously, as he added—"… in the end!"

I didn't stand a chance.

Suddenly, a fierce barrage of bones burst forward from out of nowhere. On instinct, I sidestepped, then ducked, bent back, and dropped as the sharp bone shards sliced through the air. A thicker wave forced me to resort to summoning my gold shield, which shimmered and popped as projectiles splintered against it.

Before I could counter with an attack of my own, the ground roiled. I barely managed to leap into the air in time; a field of bones shot up. The magic Delta Rune symbol painted on the back of my jacket glowed brightly as my teal wings snapped out, taking place of the ones on the design. A strong flap took me above danger.

I was shocked Blue was capable of brandishing attacks at all, let alone an entire field of them! He was so nice I never considered he had it in him! But, unfortunately, that wasn't the only trick up his little grey sleeves.

I heard a sound behind me. Thankfully, I had the presence of mind to drop instead of turn. A bright Gaster Blaster beam singed the tips of my primary feathers. Finally pushing past my surprise, I summoned a blaster of my own and commanded it fire. Forced to drop the offensive, Blue leapt and rolled out of the way. Seizing the brief reprieve, I folded my wings and dove at him.

Faster by a second, I snagged him as he stood. We tumbled for a few feet. But just as momentum slowed to my advantage, the bottom of his boots found my chest; he kicked me off.

I was already halfway to my feet when the ground caught me, but Blueberry was faster. I barely managed to stop the bone staff from the other side of my shield as he swung it down on me. I rolled as it came again. Summoning spinning blue bone attacks, I flung them at Blue, forcing him to briefly freeze; the attacks passed harmlessly through him. The pause was all I needed.

Springing to my feet, attack in hand, I slashed a bone of my own up through his staff. Both shattered. Unfortunately, that move left me wide open. His kick was a millisecond away from side-slamming my chest when I glitch teleported; his foot phased straight through me.

I glimpsed Blueberry's expression; at least one of us seemed to be having fun.

I caught a punch. A sidestep saved me from an attack. My barrage of bone shards was dodged. I raised my forearm to push off another kick—I grabbed Blueberry's leg and shoved. It threw him off balance. Surprise flashed across his face as he lost his footing and toppled back. In an instant, I was standing over him.

At first, he seemed stunned, then his eyes did… a thing. Blue and yellow stars and sparkles glittered pleadingly; it was really cute. For a second, I hesitated, somewhat enthralled with this display. Suddenly he grabbed my ankles—I found myself winded and face down on the ground with Blue's boot on my back.

"what?! hey! that wasn't fair!" I exclaimed indignantly, pathetically wiggling around. Blueberry pinged my soul to hold me down as he crouched in front of me, happily patting me on the head.

"Everything's fair in a fight, silly. Don't get distracted next time, okay?" Straightening, he released my soul, and offering me his hand, exclaimed—"I am sparing you! You can accept my mercy, or, we can go for another round." Letting out a sigh, I took his hand, and he helped me up. Blue's semi-serious battle expression dissolved. He grinned a mile wide, clapping his hands together eagerly. "You're really good, Serif! We should do this more often!"

"'it will be fun,' he said," I murmured while wandering over to a hysteric Ink and Dream. "'it won't hurt,' he said."

"Hurt?!" Blueberry asked concernedly.

"my pride," I replied, inwardly cringing yet oddly trying not to grin.

"Well," Dream managed to declare through laughs, "I guess you found a sparring buddy, huh, Blue?"

"I think Serif should try again," Ink added, smirking. "He looks like he's still got a few more rounds in him." I shot Ink a disapproving glance. Blueberry beamed at this.

"I certainly have! Serif's great!" He glanced at me for affirmation. I couldn't find any words. Miraculously, he concluded—"We should all take a break for now. But! Perhaps we can try again later!" He then happily skipped off to retrieve something from a starry-fabric bag a few feet away. Gaping, I watched him go.

"since when…? how?" I murmured incoherently to myself. Ink chuckled.

"Didn't see _that_ coming, did 'ya?" I shook my head. "Despite being a kawaii small fry, he's more than a cute face when it comes to staying alive," Ink pointed out. "He's a Star Sans, after all."

I nodded, more to myself than to Ink. Seeing my opportunity, I gathered my thoughts into words, but abandoned them when Blue returned. He brought a box of muffins—blueberry muffins, to be ironically precise—and we began discussing where we collectively felt like spending the afternoon. To my delight, we settled on BirdTale; Ink and Dream took a portal while Blue joined me via Window portal.

In this particular universe, it was Saturday, so finding the flock wasn't a problem. As we dropped onto the ledge outside of town, on the edge of Mt. Ebott—and saw our feathered friends soaring between the few cotton clouds drifting in the endless blue—I knew it was going to be a great day. They soon caught sight of us.

"hey guys," Raven Sans called, first to land. He shook the cloud-damp from his enormous midnight wings before pulling them in. We replied in kind as Undyne and Papyrus joined him.

"Hello everyone!" Dream said happily, then asked—"Despite this gorgeous weather, is it just the three of you out here today?"

"Nah," Undyne explained, "The Dreemurs and Alphys are having a picnic higher on the cliff."

"YES, AND SPARROW IS UP, TOO!" Papyrus explained earnestly. No one understood the importance of this detail until Raven's glance directed our gazes to travel along the cord Papyrus was holding.

"Why, hello up there, Sparrow!" Blueberry exclaimed, waving excitedly.

The small child had the cord tied around their waist, tiny wings effortlessly keeping them aloft in the winds; their bright smile and eager antics told me they were elated to finally be flying, even if they were practically a kite.

I grinned. Dream and Ink gasped; one out of surprised delight, the other out of sickened horror, respectively.

"So high…" Ink murmured, focusing his gaze on a level rock, literally turning a little green. I stifled a chuckle.

"sparrow got that last row of feathers, huh?" I said, directing my comment at Raven. He nodded, looking a little proud himself.

"yep. knew they'd be able to coast the gusts soon."

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Queen Toriel and King Asgore coming down the path, with Alphys scrambling behind. Ink darted over to Alphys as Dream and the Dreemurs struck up a conversation.

"how strong are those winds?" I asked.

"oh, not very," Raven said casually, pretending to be bored—obviously metaphorically pulling my wing. "just about… 60 mph." My eyes went wide.

"_sixty?_" I gaped. Raven grinned.

"what are we doing on the ground?!" I balked, feeling a burst of excited energy. Undyne snorted.

"Waiting for you," she said, a sarcastic tease in her voice. Papyrus sighed at her at this.

"well come on, let's go!" I exclaimed.

After deciding the pecking order for leaping into the gusts, I waited impatiently near the edge for my turn. Just as I was passing out of hearing range, I heard Ink earnestly exclaim—

"Oh my goodness, Alph, I finished Ōran Kōkō Hosuto Kurabu last night. I wasn't sure, but you recommended it, and it was really worth watching. I cried… SO HARD…! It was so good! And I really wasn't expecting some parts. Also it was so funny, I died so many times. There were so many feels, don't even get me started! And it was so profound…" I stopped. This was worth hearing. Backpedaling to them—

"what'cha talking about?" I asked, earning a deer in the headlights glance from Ink.

"Oh! It's n-name in English i-is Ouran Highschool Host C-Club!" Alphys explained in an excited rush. "It's th-this really c-cool st-story about a Japanese c-commoner g-girl attending a r-r-rich kid's school, and th-there's this hosting t-tea club, and—"

"wait, wait," I interjected, trying hard not to laugh. "it's… an anime?" I grinned at Ink. "you watch anime?" There was an awkward pause. A hint of rainbow tinted Ink's face.

"Maybe… sometimes…" he muttered. I lost the fight and started snickering. Ink looked mortified and indignant. Before he could defend himself and the genera, I clarified.

"whatever, ink, i'm not judging. the discovery is just… _anime-zment _to me." Despite himself, a chuckle slipped past Ink's half-frown.

"You're getting better at puns."

"hey, serif," I heard Raven call. "come on!"

"coming," I replied. Turning to leave, I casually added—"season one of sword art online was really good," and left the two to nerd out over that.

The winds were absolutely spectacular. The gusts effortlessly lifted me higher and higher, a gentle yet strong tide rising beneath my wings. There's an incomparable feeling that comes with getting swept up in a gust, wings tucked in close, spinning like a top, then flinging them out upon breaking the surface of the clouds, warm sun beams slipping between each feather.

Every game and race was a perfect challenge—hard, yet victory always within grabbing distance. A couple times, when the winds were a bit lighter, I'd take Blue or Dream up on request, as did the others. Ink and Alphys chatted for a while longer, then joined the Dreemurs, and the two other Star Sanses, as well. Everyone was having fun. It was truly an amazing day.

Eventually, hours later, I bade my friends farewell until tomorrow, seeing as I needed to get the kids from school. I tried to catch Ink and Dream before I left, but they were caught in a conversation; so be it.

Back in my world, I dropped onto the sidewalk bench just in time to hear the school bells ring and see the children spill from the doors like a tipped bag of marbles. It was like I'd never left. Asriel broke away from his tiny cluster of friends and _hoofed_ it over to me, nearly skipping despite the weight of his backpack. Together, chatting about the wonders of literature and science and the woes of homework, we went to find Lark at the elementary building.

Once reunited, we headed off. As always, I took the kids by the store on the way back. I picked up a few needed groceries while they each picked out an ice-cream bar; one of the many traditions that made me love being their school chaperone. It was wonderful to see the Nice Cream brand in stores these days.

The rest of the day fell into its usual pattern. We returned home, Asgore and I helped the kids with their homework, dinner was served, the young ones went to bed, us adults hung out for a few hours, and then hit the sack, also. Typical day.

The green glow of the digital clock screen, displaying 11:02, muted the darkness of Pap's and my room, but not enough to show me his face. We both stared up at the ceiling, chatting quietly about our respective days. Soon, Papyrus trailed off mid-sentence; he was out. I'd gone silent, too… but I wasn't asleep. A few mere months had rewritten my life's story.

The experience of gambling my life into Error's hands to rescue Blueberry had redefined the word "fear" for me. I was terrified of falling into his clutches ever again. But, the Destroyer's long absence—and the absence of many other villains in the Alternate Universes—had slowly eased that fear. The lack of oppression had granted the Multiverse a long-awaited rest. Since the Multiverse was at rest, so were the Star Sanses. Neither Ink, nor Dream, nor Blue were in danger, nor my world, my family, Lark, or Papyrus. Even I was finally safe.

So why could I neither shake nor lay a finger on this sense of dread that was growing in my mind?

Perhaps it was just my paranoia speaking. I'd grown accustomed to fighting for peace; now that it was being handed to me on a silver platter, I found myself wondering who poisoned it, or what unspoken soul-selling contract I signed by accepting the dish. This life I loved was entirely too good to be true, and yet there were no warning flags to suggest a lie.

And, I couldn't get the soulless Sans out of my head. Last night I had watched his capture play out again, for the fourth time in a row. It wasn't particularly strange, having Error-related nightmares, or seeing someone other than myself as the "main character." But I wondered… it felt like… I feared… that the hollow Sans was supposed to be me. What it represented, I didn't know. I couldn't get Ink's or Dream's opinions on these matters, either; whenever I tried to tell them, I was interrupted. So, either I was making a mountain out of a mole hill and was being spared making a fool of myself, or, it was not yet time to bring the topic up.

Rolling to the side and bunching the blankets up in clenched fists, I curled into a comfortable ball. Releasing a long, silent sigh, I put the questions out of my mind, smiling as they faded away, and eventually fell into a dream-plagued sleep.


	4. Chapter 2 - Despair

**_Chapter 2- Despair_**

Peaceful weeks of similar caliber passed like river water; I lost track of the time that slipped through my fingers. For a while, even the dreams and worries washed away. But it was not to last.

My mind was coaxed awake—slightly earlier than normal—by… _not_ the alarm clock. I sensed someone. A patient presence. Upon this realization, my eyes snapped open. Papyrus stood over me, deep concern coating his watchful expression. I blinked. Paps noticed I was awake. A quick sigh displayed apparent relief.

"BROTHER! ARE YOU ALRIGHT?" he questioned earnestly. I blinked again.

"paps?" I murmured sleepily; his anticipation for my answer was obvious. "i think… i'm alright?"

"ARE YOU SURE?"

"why wouldn't i be?" I muttered, pushing myself halfway upright to keep awake. "what's up?" Papyrus plopped onto the edge of my bed, sighing once more; the sound had the tone of a scolding, the weight of a burden, and the duration of a day without sleep.

"YOU REALLY GAVE ME A SCARE LAST NIGHT. THERE WAS THIS THUD, AND I WONDERED WHAT IT COULD BE. THE WHOLE ROOM WAS AGLOW BRIGHT BLUE AND GOLD! YOU'D ROLLED OFF THE EDGE OF THE BED, AND THERE WAS THIS BIG MAGIC STORM; YOU KEPT KICKING AROUND AND MAKING FRIGHTENED NOISES—YOU WERE DREAMING! I TRIED TO WAKE YOU UP, BUT I COULDN'T STOP IT! IT WAS LIKE YOU DIDN'T WANT TO WAKE UP, OR COULDN'T. YOU HAVEN'T HAD A NIGHTMARE LIKE THAT IN A LONG TIME, IS SOMETHING BOTHERING YOU?" I sat all the way up, now.

"but, i didn't…"

Something stole my words. A desperate pull at my mind pled with me to think back and find what was missing. This was important. The gears churned in my head. And suddenly, the memory of the night snapped into place. I remembered having the bad dream. And I remembered the dream itself. It was the same nightmare. But this time it'd felt real, like I was the captive. The captive was destroyed, from the inside out. And I had felt the pain and fear of all the hundreds of captives that had come before. They were all dead, too. Images of an Alternate Universe flashed through my head.

I sprang out of bed.

"i gotta get to the star sanses!" I exclaimed, dashing for my jacket.

"WHAT'S WRONG? DID YOU SEE SOMETHING THAT HASN'T HAPPENED YET?" Papyrus asked, alarmed.

"foresight?" I answered. "i dearly hope not." I yanked on tennis shoes instead of slippers. "you're gonna have to take the kids to school—but drive, they hate the bus. please, can you cover for me? if they ask, i had to be somewhere, early, for an uncertain amount of time. i'll be back before supper. i hope." I formed a golden bubble, snatched the portal pendant—

"WAIT!" I stopped, glancing at Papyrus. "PLEASE SANS," he requested. "PLEASE, BE CAREFUL. STAY SAFE." After a moment, I gave a light smile and nodded.

"i will," I said. The glass shattered as my fist tightened around the pendant.

I tumbled into the Doodle Sphere.

"guys!" I shouted. Ink was so startled by my call that he yelped and fell from the anti-gravity magic, pencil and sketchbook clattering to the ground. Dream and Blue looked up from a board game. "we gotta move, trouble's coming!" I dashed for one of Ink's notebooks, in search of a picture of the AU in question so as to form a Window portal from it.

"Serif, what's going on?" Ink asked, scrambling with the others over to me.

"the dream didn't show me everything; i don't know for sure. i just know it's bad. get ready for a fight."

"Just a dream?" Blueberry asked hopefully.

"reoccurring nightmare," I corrected, fingers fumbling to flip through the pages.

"You've been having dreams?!" Dream exclaimed. "You didn't think to mention this earlier?"

"i'm sorry, it never seemed the time…"

"Gift of foresight," Dream murmured, "no biggie." There was a lecture in his words, but understanding in his tone. Suddenly my gaze latched onto one of the pages. The colors and design were unmistakable.

"this is it!" I exclaimed, slamming my hand down over the paper. A Window portal flashed into existence over the notebook. Confusion painted Ink's face.

"That's one of mine…?"

"it's in danger," I affirmed. He was gone before I could blink. Dream summoned his staff and dove in after Ink. Blueberry followed. Before I could move, the world slowed. The next few milliseconds felt like another life time. From the silence, a warning resonated in my soul.

If I stepped through that portal, I would risk my happy ending and everyone in it.

I faltered. My family could be affected by my decision to protect? I remembered, from long ago, the feeling of a blade slashing through my bones and soul. I knew the pain of death. Would I risk dusting permanently for the sake of a single world? And Papyrus. What if something happened to him? What if it was my fault? He was involved with the Multiverse now; if I was in danger, so was he. I would rather dust than lose him. What if I wasn't around for Lark? My foresight kept her alive. If that child died because of my decisions… there weren't words to describe the anguish I felt at the thought. And all my other friends, my family—Asgore, Toriel, Grillby, Fuku, Alphys, Undyne, Asriel, Muffet… It couldn't be worth it! But…

But wasn't that why I fought in the first place? So others didn't suffer my forgiven fate? So others could have hope, even if it meant I lost myself? _ my happy ending isn't the only one on the line. i have to do something!_

I leapt through the portal.

There was… nothing. I looked around in confusion. I stood beside Blue, Ink, and Dream. In the distance, in every direction, I could see vague clutter along the edges of the cavern. Other than that—nothing. I glanced at Ink. Judging by the look on his face, I knew this world hadn't been empty the last time he was here.

"How… where…?" he whispered. A slight touch of breeze made me glance down as something brushed my ankles. I crouched, running my hand across the ground. Ash and dust. It might as well have been blood; a sharp chill shot down my spine.

"There," Blue said suddenly, pointing. "There's someone here!" In an instant, Ink was dashing towards the smudge on the horizon.

Just as it seemed we were going to catch up with him, he came to an abrupt halt. I'd been so focused on matching Ink's pace that I'd not noticed the person growing clearer. Now I could see, but what I saw didn't compute.

Hung up by his pinged soul, feet off the ground, blank gaze fixed on us, was a Papyrus. He was obviously an alternation, wildly unique and creative; a product of Ink's imagination, no doubt. He was either _bone weary_ and content to just _hang around_, or, was oblivious to his current situation. Perhaps both. There was no indication he had perceived our presence.

There was a heartbeat in time. Ink took a hesitant step forward.

"… Papyrus—?"

Something shot through the air. An awful slicing noise split the silence as the projectile stabbed straight through the Papyrus's soul. The glowing mass shattered. Like a puppet cut of its strings, he dropped, fell into a crumpled heap, and dusted. Ink let out a muffled, strangled cry of dismay. Then we saw what was behind Papyrus.

It was a Sans. Our presence was currently either ignored or unnoticed; he was facing away from us. Tiny spots of color attested to the fact his jacket was perhaps once bright turquoise. But now it was dark, tarnished as though by smoke. The back had a ragged tear in it, the tattered edges fraying. The shirt beneath it, also torn, was the color of an evening shadow. His shorts were a faded black, with the typical white stripe—also dulled. His bones were a dark, ash gray. Dust-matted slippers ranged in varying hues of the same color.

Hovering in his hand was a chaotically colorful soul. It appeared to be composed of over thirty flashing shards. They all dashed around, slamming into the sides of the up-side-down heart. As I watched, the Sans held up another piece. It was absorbed, and began darting around like the others. It was only when I saw the shade of green that I realized; it was a shard from the Papyrus's soul.

The kaleidoscopic mass disappeared from our sight. The Sans didn't turn, but spent a low sideways glance. He had sensed us. Any opportunity for confrontation was cut off as horror stole our words.

It was like a scorpion, as a vulture spreading its wings—like a demon.

Eight long, twitching, arced appendages unfurled behind him. There were four on each side, just like a spider. They were all split into three rigid segments, the final section ending in a claw-like spike, dripping with black. They looked remotely like wings stripped of feathers and flesh. Hovering, thin blue bone attacks, like sewing needles, fanned out around his hand, hazed in purple. He turned. My soul seized up.

"Greetings," he said, smiling; the slash of white patches breaking through the grey, on the right side of his face, became more pronounced. His voice resonated on multiple levels, as if on a scrambler. His eyes—small red ring to the left, red ring over a blue ring to the right—flashed with psychotic eagerness as he concluded— "I was wondering when you would show up."

Holding his arm in front of Blue, Dream took a nervous step back, prompting his friend to do the same. I remained frozen. But Ink took a bold step forward.

"Who are you?" the Artist demanded. "Why have you come to this world?" The Sans tipped his head to the side, as if thinking—or listening.

"You're Ink," he stated simply, smiling. His gaze went to Dream. "Nightmare thinks of you often, Dream… dark thoughts, of course. He wants you to suffer eternally for your betrayal. You're lucky to have the Artist protecting you." Thoroughly rattled, Dream pushed Blueberry behind him and brandished his staff.

"How do you know these things?" he challenged. "Who sent you?!"

"You needn't be so defensive, Dream," the dark one continued, ignoring the questions, and assured—"I'm not here for Blue. Oh, speaking of Blueberry!" he added. "Your intervention in Error's affairs was very motivating, if the voices aren't mistaken. He hasn't forgotten your treason of trust." Amused, he chuckled darkly to himself as Blue's eye lights paled. Suddenly, the psychotic gaze landed on me. Icy chills splintered my senses. "And he certainly hasn't forgotten your part in this story, _Seriphim_."

I couldn't reply. I felt like I was looking through a mirror, into the eyes of the darkest side of my soul personified. And it was reaching out to drown me.

"I'll ask one more time," Ink said dangerously, whipping his brush out to point at the dark skeleton, "and you better answer. Who are you?" The Sans looked to Ink. For a moment, he actually seemed confused, as if considering a riddle for the first time. Then, a jagged grin cracked up his face, as he answered—

"I am Despair; the demon who is always waiting." He smiled wide at this, absolutely elated. Then, locking eyes with Ink, with a look of judgmental pity, he cryptically added—"So many… even yours."

There was a strange silence. I glanced at Ink. He was trembling slightly. His fists were tightened. The slightest change in position spoke of a clenched jaw. I heard a tiny noise, then another, like raindrops announcing a coming storm. Ink jerkily shook his head a few times. Then, slowly, hesitantly, Ink swung his brush to his back. His shoulders slumped. He stopped quivering. Then, magic static filled the air above him. Before I could process what all this might mean, suddenly, the magic solidified into a ring of Gaster Blasters that fired right at Ink.

I leapt forward. Tackling the Artist, I flash teleported us away before we could hit the ground. I rolled and sprang up, summoning attacks.

"what's the plan?" I asked anxiously.

No response.

I glanced at Ink, who was still staggering to his feet. His gaze was hollow. He wasn't breathing. He didn't seem to hear Dream's and Blueberry's calls.

"… ink?"

Two things happened at once. I was suddenly sent skidding, my soul pinged and thrown aside. Ink flung his hand up… and a huge bone attack shot up from the ground. It was like time slowed. Horror spread across Dream's and Blue's faces. We watched helplessly as the attack slammed up under Ink's chin; if it had been any harder, it could have snapped his neck. He stumbled back, yet somehow managed to maintain his footing.

"ink?!" I gasped, "what—"

Another enormous blaster formed. The empty tears streamed as Ink blankly stared into its blazing eyes as its maw gushed with colorful light, the jaws unhinged—Dream leapt in the way, blocking the beam with the spinning of his staff. His defense was faltering.

"Ink, MOVE!" he exclaimed.

Nothing.

The onslaught lasted longer than Dream anticipated; the barrier failed. The blast momentarily drowned him from sight. When the light cleared, I could see his vague HP bar fall nearly to the yellow mark. Moaning quietly and stumbling slightly, he grabbed Ink by the front of the scarf and yanked him down flat as a complex ring of attacks shredded the air above the Artist.

Blue was running towards them, as was I. Confusion flashed across Dream's face as magic enveloped his body; suddenly he was sent skidding across the ground, slamming into Blueberry. Both went sprawling.

Ink didn't bother to rise. The ground roiled. Just before the bone attacks burst up to skewer him, I sprang forward, snagged my friend, and shot up.

I raced to evade the tips of the spikes; I was forced higher and higher into the air. We were nearly forty feet above solid ground. I held tighter, Ink's twitching arms pinned firmly to his sides. He kicked and struggled in my grasp, bent on his own destruction.

"ink, stop!" I demanded.

He stopped. For a moment, all was still. Then a spike of sharp agony split through my mind. My HP flickered. A surprised gasp caught in my throat; four jagged bone attacks had stabbed through the back of my left wing. The wiggling Artist nearly slipped from my grasp. I faltered, losing altitude at an alarming rate. A few yards above the ground, I gave up my frantic flailing. Tucking my wings as tightly as I could around us, I hastily formed a protection bubble and braced for impact.

The force shattered the weak shield. Ink was jolted away as I landed hard on my back. My wings inadvertently unfurled, slamming against the ground, driving the attacks clean through. Black pulsated in my vision as a muffled cry slipped past my clenched teeth.

Ink was on his feet again. A sharp attack formed in his fist. Just as he pressed it to his own chest, Blueberry reached him; the up-cut kick hit Ink's wrist, throwing off his aim; the tip merely grazed his shoulder. Blue ducked as the blade swung his way, then sprang forward, tackling Ink to the ground and attempting to hold down his thrashing limbs. Ink soon kicked him off—into me. More attacks materialized.

"Knock him out. Knock him out!" Dream shouted frantically, brandishing his staff and darting forward once again.

Distantly, I sensed Despair. Through the thrumming pain, I felt the air crackle, and in my mind, heard a whisper— _"See you soon… Seriphim."_

I watched in horror as gray threads snaked up the eight clawed things and wove between them. A single pump of the deformed, demonic wings later, Despair shot into the air and disappeared through a black portal. The world hitched, then began to crumble. Time was running out. Dream's attacks were parried. Blue was flung away. I stumbled up. An idea.

"dream," I called, reaching out with my magic, "_now!_"

Pinging Ink's shoelaces, I yanked and twisted, tangling them around his ankles. He tumbled to his knees. Before he could stand, Dream darted forward and clapped his hands on either side of the Artist's head. A burst of blinding gold flashed from Ink's eyes. He crumpled.

"Serif, here, hurry!" Dream exclaimed, beckoning frantically. I stumbled towards him. Gathering Ink up, he grabbed Blue and I, and as the world collapsed, teleported away.

After a turbulent portal ride, we stumbled back into the Doodle Sphere. Kneeling, Dream hesitantly allowed Ink to slip from his arms. The moment the Artist was safely on solid ground, Dream sprang up and started pacing.

"I can't believe I just did that…" he murmured, sincerely distressed. I followed a few steps behind and to the side of him, trying to get his attention and calm him down.

"do you mean knocking ink out? dream, you saved us, and him, by doing that. it's alright," I pointed out.

"That magic was really strong... it must have hurt like a hammer…" he murmured distractedly.

Blue knelt behind Ink, carefully pulling his head onto his lap, and placed a gloved hand over Ink's forehead; gentle blue light glowed into existence.

"Don't worry Dream. I'll heal him now, so he won't get a migraine when he wakes up," Blueberry consoled. Dream nodded and sat where he stood.

There was a long silence. We all knew Ink's potential headache wasn't the source of distress. There weren't many monsters in the Multiverse strong enough to kill Ink. He himself was one of the few. It was too baffling to ponder. There were no words to debate what we had just witnessed.

About half an hour later, we were all thoroughly zoned out, so no one noticed Ink was awake until he hesitantly asked—

"Umm… hi?"

Blue jumped, startling Ink half senseless.

"Ink!" he exclaimed happily.

"Ink!" Dream exclaimed, not happily, dashing over to him with me. "What on earth were you doing?!" Carefully sitting up, Ink thoughtfully considered this question, a slight frown on his face.

"Sleeping, I think. I don't know why, though." He distractedly spaced out for a moment.

"No, not that!" Dream corrected, snapping Ink out of his daze. "The empty world, the fight with that evil skeleton!" Ink's puzzled expression deepened.

"What do you mean, 'fight with the evil skeleton'? We've been here all day," he said, obviously oblivious to the past hour. Dream buried his face in his hands, muttering about hitting him too hard. Ink tipped his head aside. "Did I forget something?"

"Here, Ink! I'll show you!" Blueberry exclaimed, grabbing a nearby sheet of paper. After requesting the primary colors and a pencil from Ink, Blue quickly drew a considerably accurate sketch. "This is Despair! Remember now?" Ink's eyes widened.

"Oh…" Ink breathed, taking the picture, disturbed flickers of recognition flashing in his gaze.

"what is it?" I prompted. Ink pointed at the eye lights.

"Dust," he answered simply. "It looks like Dust Sans." He pointed to the dripping arched claws. "Nightmare. And this is like Error," he added, indicating the strings between said claws. He observed and named a few more features, like the grey-scale bones, the slash across Despair's face, the super thin bone attacks, and other tiny details. "… the outfit looks really familiar, as does his overall size and form, but I can't quite place it. I can't tell from just a sketch." Ink took a few more seconds to scrutinize the drawing, then put it down. "Who's idea was this? It's pretty creative. Really freaky… but creative!" He glanced between us expectantly.

"i don't think you understand," I tried. "despair is real. we all met him today." Observing his blank stare, I concluded—"i guess you lost memory of him when we… ah, knocked you out."

"… What?" Ink balked. "When? And, wait, _why_? How did you—who did? What?"

"I knocked you out an hour ago with sleep magic because you were being crazy and tried to kill yourself and us!" Dream suddenly exclaimed in a rush. Ink's confusion turned to absolute shock.

"But, I would never do something like that! No matter how sleep… deprived… I was…? Was I sleep deprived? When was my last nap, two months ago?" he pondered distractedly to himself. Noticing the confounded glances we exchanged, his expression morphed into uneasy concern and skepticism. "Oh, you're joking. You should really stop now, it's kinda messed up. Is this some sort of prank, maybe a test? Did I miss something while I was napping? You are joking, right?" At first, no one knew what to say to that.

"it's not a joke," I eventually answered, and carefully unfurled my left wing as proof.

Though partially healed, the wounds were still obvious; blotchy rainbow bruises could be seen around the stab marks, attesting to the type of magic that caused the damage. The color drained from Ink's eye lights.

"Did I do that to you?" he breathed in horror. "Serif, I… I'm so sorry, I would never…!"

"i know," I consoled. In hopes of calming him, I added—"it's alright, it's not as bad as it looks. it barely—"

"No, it's not alright!" he interjected, low-key freaking out. "I don't understand, it's… I didn't—!"

"It couldn't have been Ink," Blueberry stated simply. We all shot him an inquisitive glance. Blue patted the perplexed Artist on the head affectionately, confusing him even more, thus distracting him from his panic. Blue smiled at him, and pointed out— "Creators can't fire Gaster Blasters." Ink nearly lost it.

"There were blasters involved?!" he shrieked. Things started clicking into place for me.

"no, really, blue's right," I agreed. "ink, you're scared of heights. you were so eager to get back to solid ground that you tried getting me to drop you." Ink looked choked.

"How high up…?" he asked hesitantly.

"very, very, high up," I answered. Ink shook his head, looking grateful to be alive.

"Yeah, no way that was me," he agreed, shuddering lightly.

"And why would he try to stab at a soul he doesn't have?" Dream added, rolling with the momentum. Ink looked deeply distressed at all the talk. Dream perceived this, and firmly concluded—"It wasn't Ink."

For a moment, everyone was too busy thinking all this over to speak. Then Ink snapped his head up.

"Where were we when all this went down?" he asked concernedly. Dream's face fell. Ink noticed. "Dream, where were we? What happened?" he pressed. After a regretful pause, Dream sighed.

"It was your version of PeaceTale," he said quietly. "I'm sorry Ink… It's gone." This was a harsh blow. The soul ache was obvious. His reaction was cut off, though, as something beyond us caught Ink's attention. Eyes wide, he suddenly sprang up and darted for a Window. Confused, we hurried to join him.

"What is it?" Blue asked, intently searching the Window's display. Surprisingly, it flickered, then turned grey.

"what was that?" I asked.

Ink appeared baffled. He flinched, whirled, and darted for another. We followed like dumb-dumb sheep, still oblivious. It happened again, but this time, I saw it. A flash of dark red light pulsated from the face of the Window. Within seconds, more bursts of distressed colors began popping up, flickering from across the Sphere. Ink stopped darting about, feet rooted to the ground, and glanced between them all in dismay.

Dream flinched. Blueberry and I shot him a concerned glance. He winced again. Blue let out a surprised cry as Dream gasped, clapping his hands over his head; he heard something we couldn't.

"Dream! What's wrong?!" Blue begged, trying to comfort his friend, appearing distressed himself.

"The Multiverse—!" Dream wheezed, beginning to tremble under the unseen strain. "They're all… there's so much sorrow…!"

"what is going on?" I exclaimed, beginning to feel sick myself, as if some great oppressive power weighed on my soul.

"Error's Armageddon." Ink breathed. His eye lights streaked through desperate signs. "All the forces of evil are back."

The doom of this statement sunk in.

From across the universes, hope was dwindling. I felt it dying with each world's death. Blue's face fell as he sensed people were giving up. The cries of fear and desolation were deafening to Dream. Ink heard every crack as universes were wrenched to pieces. We couldn't handle it all at once.

"We split up," Ink hurriedly ordered shakily. "Dream, take Serif to HopeTale and seal it. Blue; you, me, UnderSwap, seal. After that, Dream, Serif—take the first two quadrants, Blue and I will get the other half. Once a world is secure, you must shut it off. The Multiverse is in a state of emergency. This is war. Use your judgment and recruit any who are willing and able to fight. Rally our allies. Get any survivors to the Omega Timeline; Core Frisk can't physically be everywhere at once. Do not engage Error or Nightmare under any circumstance; this widespread chaos will give them unimaginable strength. And if you run into this 'Despair'… I demand you flee. Got it?"

Dream nodded resolutely, summoning his staff. Magic armor shimmered around Blue. Ink glanced to me.

"i'm in," I affirmed.

"Good," he said. "Good luck everyone. Don't die."

And with that, with hesitant glances of fear and farewells at each other, at the friends we might never see again, we leapt through our respective portals.

it has begun.


	5. Chapter 3 - Secrets and Brothers

**_Chapter 3- Secrets and Brothers_**

"N... NINE HUNDRED AND FORTY SIX?!" Papyrus balked.

"shhh!" I shushed. Thankfully, the children's laughter and splashes covered the noise. "yeah. well... probably more. ink's still tallying up the damage. there's no telling how many worlds were lost."

Cross-legged and elbows to knees, I sat with my chin in my hands, Paps beside me, on the edge of the neighborhood pool. We watched Lark contentedly play near the main cluster of children while we chatted. I was silently cheering her to go join them.

I had, in fact, made it back for dinner after the fight... two days later. War waits for no one. Of course, I'd hastily explained things to Papyrus when Dream took me to close the world. Only I had access to it now— well, anyone belonging to the universe. My absence was explained away as a "string of scientific inquiries." I despised how skilled I was at lying, even if it was for the best.

I could take this 24 hours at a time. I tried to be home for most of the day, then slip away under the cover of night. I'd return in the wee hours, talk with Papyrus, snag a few hours of sleep until morning, get the kids to school, and disappear again. But… I was home now. And so, so thankful for it.

"NNGGGGHHHHAAAA! Cannon ball!"

Undyne took a running vault-leap off one of the chairs. She sent the majority of the human children scampering to their mothers as she caused a miniature tsunami. Paps and I got a few dirty looks from the parents. I tried a nervous, apologetic smile on them.

Popping up under Lark, Undyne shot across the pool, Lark perched on her shoulders like a mer queen on her royal sea horse. She was giggling gleefully, pointing hopefully to the deep end. Undyne went under; a magic air bubble formed around Lark's head. They wouldn't be coming up for at least a minute. I returned to my conversation with Paps.

"all the death and destruction in the multiverse is adding up. the enemy got loads of lv and exp… battles are gonna be so hard, now; they're really strong."

"IS THAT WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?" Papyrus asked concernedly.

"why i got so banged up?" I asked, absentmindedly rubbing my fractured forearm; no one had noticed the bandages beneath my sleeves, or around my chest, or the patches on my wings. "yeah. i'm one of the lucky ones," I admitted, then let out a low, pained sigh. "if you think i got it bad, you shoulda seen raven… and ink. and dream...! i feared he was gonna dust before i could get him back to the sphere." I shook my head. "i'm so glad you're safe, paps. there's always that consolation."

Lark peaked over the side of the pool. I quickly put on my full smile.

"hey little fish," I said. Clambering out of the water, she padded sopping footsteps over to us. "you done?"

"cold," she explained.

"HERE YOU GO, LARK," Papyrus offered, snatching her towel from the ground beside him. She was soon rolled up like a burrito.

Coming back to me, she climbed into my lap, settling into a comfortable, wet heap. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled heat magic from my soul. Within minutes, I was radiating warmth like an electric blanket. It was a trick I'd known since I was little; yes, skeletons are made of bones, but we're first and foremost made of magic.

An upbeat, K-pop melody rang through the air. Undyne's head broke the surface.

"Alphys!" she exclaimed.

"alphy?" Lark, who apparently had nodded off, started, jerking slightly, unknowingly elbowing me in the ribs—the broken one, to be precise. The wince was well hidden. Papyrus gave me subtle reassuring pats as Lark leapt up, darting to the pool table and snatching Undyne's phone, answering the call before Undyne could get out of the water.

"hi alphy!" Lark exclaimed happily. Some response on the other side made her grin a mile wide, then look slightly concerned. "no…?" she asked. Undyne walked over, impatiently yet silently waiting for Lark to hand her the phone. A few seconds later, she did just that.

"Hey Alphys! What's—" Undyne stopped, listening.

"YOU OKAY?" Papyrus whispered to me.

"been better," I admitted, chuckling slightly despite myself, "but, thanks; i'm alright."

"It's Saturday, come on! You missed movie night last week, too!" I tuned back into Undyne's conversation. Another pause. "No Alph, listen here; you're coming over tonight or I'm coming to get you, ya' hear? You work too hard!" I grinned.

In my world, Undyne and Alphys were best friends, like sisters almost, instead of lovers. I was glad. She was the only one who could talk that workaholic into taking some time off.

"Papyrus is gonna make apple cinnamon spice cookies, Alphys, you don't wanna miss it…" Paps beamed at this. "Of course not… yeah, I told ya! It's true! It's not a problem… I'm sure the lab can manage without you for one night…" A minute later, the grin grew. "Fuhaha! Don't mention it. It's what besties do! Great, see you tonight!" Lark clapped happily at these words, elated at the prospect of the coming late night, food, friends, and a film. Saturdays were good days.

"hey, paps." Papyrus glanced at me. "if i slip away when we get back, i might be able to make it in time for tonight."

"ARE YOU SURE YOU'RE OKAY?" he pressed. "AND IS IT SAFE?"

"i'll be fine," I assured. "the initial wave is past, i believe. but i should still go, if only to see if everyone _else_ is fine."

After a moment of thought, Papyrus nodded.

"ALRIGHTY. DO COME BACK SOON." I nodded also.

"i'll try."

When I dropped into the Doodle Sphere an hour later, all was silent. The hustle and bustle of yesterday and the day before was gone. Even the Windows and colorful Wigglers seemed slower than usual. And less numerous.

At first, I thought there was no one here. Just as I was convinced of it, I noticed a figure in the distance, sitting with their back to me. I started walking. As I got closer, I made out the big brown scarf and enormous paintbrush.

"heya ink," I greeted. He looked up.

"Oh, hi Serif." A light smile painted his face, but I saw through it. _has he been crying?_

"what's wrong?" I asked. "you ok?" Ink let out a little sigh, surprising a brief frown of defeat, somewhat resigned to my nearly psychic sadness-sensing abilities. He shrugged a bit.

"I'm… alright," he admitted. I sat beside him. It took him a moment to answer my other question. A minute later, voice laced with sorrow, he stated— "Error destroyed another AU."

Odd. Though sad, such things didn't usually hit Ink this hard. He had to stay somewhat steeled to the inevitable. But I understood as he quietly added—

"There were these two kids… I could only save one."

"oh…" I murmured, rather sad now, too. Ink gave a bitter chuckle.

"How cruel fate can be. One was killed by his alternation, the other saved by hers." Then, Ink smiled faintly. "They seemed to be friends. It's rare, to see two such living in the same world, in harmony, even." The smile disappeared, a shadow passing over his face. "Now even that is gone."

There was a long silence. There were no words I could say that could truly comfort him. Just being there, being sad together… sometimes empathy is enough. Eventually, I stood. Ink glanced at me.

"look, i know things have been crazy, maybe you wanna put the searches on pause, but we could go—" Ink took the hand I offered.

"Yeah. No, I'd like that." I pulled him up. "Thanks Serif." Summoning up his bag and digging out a sketchbook, Ink started flipping through. "Where were we up to, again?" he asked, seeming a bit more hopeful already.

"eratale," I answered.

"Oh, right. Thanks," Ink replied, turning to the page even as he spoke. Tapping the paper, a Window portal flashed into existence above it. Ink slung the bag over his shoulder, grabbed the notebook, and we jumped through.

I'd kept my promise. Blueberry was safe and Dream was out of trouble; now we would search for Ink's home. We would find his brother. His world. He would get his life back. Papyrus had to be out there, somewhere! So we searched.

Working our way backwards through Ink's sketchbooks methodically took us to the far corners of the Multiverse. The AU was untraceable. "InkTale" apparently didn't "exist." The possibilities were endless; perhaps the other characters in his world were dimension travelers, too, and constantly scattered about. Maybe they were spread throughout the AUs. Maybe they had left their home and integrated into another. Maybe the world was hidden.

There were other options, but I insisted we focus on the positive ones. Ink!Papyrus was alive. He had to be. I had, in fact, hoped so hard that he was out there, to the degree that even if he wasn't, I had surely willed him into existence by now. Ink deserved to find his brother. He just had to find him.

Landing in EraTale, we set about the task of brother-seeking. First, we secretly watched the world's Papyrus; was this his true home world? Next, we split up and located the other characters, briefly observing. If that turned up futile, we checked the history of the save stars. If the world had unexplainable origins, if the name had been changed, if its true nature was hidden or locked… the files would say so. On lucky days, Ink and I could search through twenty worlds in an hour.

"heya, ink?" I asked, 14 worlds later, while perusing a save star's records, "apart from you star sanses, i don't often see other people in the doodle sphere. in the scope of the multiverse, i'm a nobody. so, why do you let me come so often?" Ink looked up from his respective save star, appearing mildly surprised at my question.

"You're not a nobody. Atop being an amazing friend, you're a literal lifesaver. Ask Blueberry. Or Dream. And me!" He considered his next point for a moment, then shrugged, returning to his reading material. "And, I mean, you're one of the few who can get in at all."

"what's that mean?"

"Not many people can actually enter the Doodle Sphere, it blocks most from entering." Ink absentmindedly glanced around, thinking. "I suppose it's accessible to those without a world of their own? I can enter, Dream can, and I assume—because you were deleted—you can too? Blue required a lot of magic and coding to be granted access." He shook his head, chuckling. "He ended up in the metaphorical Timbuktu countless times. Until I got it right, every time he tried to get in, he'd end up across the Multiverse in some random AU, in Toriel's kitchen, Tem village, or in the middle of the king's garden—even atop the MTT resort roof." I grinned, then chuckled, then laughed.

"those are some priceless mental images." Ink smiled wide, amused.

"Worth a sketch, I'd say." It was then my watch alarm went off; it was time to go home. Bidding Ink farewell, I returned to my world, slipping in the door like I'd never left.


	6. Chapter 4 - The Panic in UnderFell

**_Chapter 4- The Panic in UnderFell_**

"any minute now…" I murmured. Ink squirmed.

"Oh, this is gonna be great! So excited!" He laughed, something between a giggle and a snort, and I couldn't help but shake my head.

"we're asking for trouble. i'm gonna get in trouble. why do i let you talk me into this kinda stuff, again?" I asked, frowning up at him. "you're a terrible influence."

"Oh come on, Serif, ya' know you love me," Ink insisted, leaning sideways so he could peak around his armful to smirk at me. "When have I ever gotten you into trouble?"

"constantly," I muttered under my breath. "forgetful scatterbrain."

"Never!" Ink exclaimed, oblivious to my complaint, "And anyway, it'll be _buckets _of fun!" My friend then snickered to himself over his own pathetic pun. I grinned anyway.

Ever since Blue was rescued, Ink had begun to show his _true colors _when it came to pranking. Sometimes they weren't of the best taste—he could be a bit of a jerk, believe it or not—but he just wanted to make people laugh.

The Artist hovered above the spot in space Dream had stepped through a few minutes prior. He hugged a very large bucket filled with a sloshing, considerably undignified shade of pink paint. Dream would reappear shortly, and, well… bombs away.

A swirl of light lit in the air.

"here he comes, ink!" I alerted. Ink giggled gleefully.

"Act natural, act natural!" I couldn't tell if he was telling me or himself. Dream vaulted through the portal. I grinned casually.

"hiya dream," I said, trying not to chuckle. "what's up—?"

"Error's in UnderFell. We gotta move!"

A muffled shriek of _"WHAT?!" _caused Dream to look up, just in time for Ink—bucket and all— to come crashing down atop him. I leapt back in time to avoid the torrential pink waterfall. It was an amusing mess to witness.

"Ink, seriously?" Dream scolded in annoyance, wiping fuchsia goop from his eyes. "Again? You are literally the worst—" Ink flailed to stand.

"_BLUE'S IN THERE!" _My smile vanished. Dream was on his feet in an instant.

"What?!" he exclaimed in horror.

"He left a quarter of an hour ago!" Ink explained. "He was gonna hang with Cherry. He's in there with Error!" Dream had a portal open before Ink even finished. We all darted through, fearing the worst.

We touched down in the world. Dream concentrated, mentally searching for Blueberry. Mere seconds later, he grabbed Ink and I, and teleported. Blue was there, running through teal cord grass, turning to throw up a thick wall of bone attacks behind him. An enormous black Gaster Blaster pounded through it, sending splinters flying. Error calmly strode forward after Blueberry.

"StOp rUnnIng, BluE," he called, the echo flowers sending his distorted message shuddering through the caverns.

"Please, just leave me be!" Blueberry begged.

Dream leapt from cover, staff swinging at Error. But the Destroyer seemed to know we were here. He didn't even spare a glance as he whipped a cord around Dream's chest, slammed him into the ground— leaving a nice puddle of pink paint— and flicked him aside. Just as Ink reached out and caught him—_"above you."_ I snapped my gaze up. Gasping, I summoned a shield just in time to block the hail of strings raining down upon us. Ink tried to steady Dream, who was considerably dazed, then let out a gasp.

"I can't teleport?!" he balked. Dream evidently tried, to no avail.

"TemPoRarY DeAD zoNe," Error called over his shoulder. "NeW tRiCK." Blueberry had ceased running, reluctant to leave his friends in danger. Glancing nervously between Error and the protection bubble, he took battle stance; a bone staff formed in his hand.

"Don't come any closer," he warned. Error gave a disarming smile.

"I caMe to OffeR aN easIEr wAy oUT oF thIs mEsS." He took a few more steps forward, unnerving Blue. "ComE bACk wItH mE noW. No onE HaS to sUFfer." Closer. "CoMe BaCk. EaSY WaY." Closer still. "I'd LiKE yOu tO cOmE WilLiNLy," he stopped a few steps away, "BuT DoN'T kEEp Me waItiNg." He held out his hand. "ChOoSE."

"No, Blue!" Dream cried out in frantic dismay. "Serif, can you flash teleport?"

"don't know. but if i did, the shield would drop," I warned, struggling to keep it solid beneath the relentless hail of death. "there are enough critical hits here to kill an amalgamate, you wouldn't survive!"

"Please!" Dream begged, "Do something! Anything!"

Ink, who had been desperately glancing about, suddenly doused himself in more pink paint, and murmuring—_"Please work," _exploded into a burst of fuchsia. From the other side of the bubble, he burst up from the puddle Dream had left and leapt forward like a vicious panther. The Artist tackled the Destroyer down, both tumbling for a few feet. In a flash, Error kicked Ink off into the river; strings fished him out and ensnared him. Blue made a dash for cover. Error flung his hand towards him also—threads lashed about him.

In that instant, as the cords tightened about Ink, making him yelp, as the protection shield was audibly cracking, as Blue was yanked off his feet, panicking, he cried out—

"_HELP!"_

Error stopped, smile faltering, seemingly alarmed at the screaming flowers all about, sending this S.O.S. signal across the entire realm of Waterfall. The sound passed.

Silence.

"HeH," he murmured, grin returning as he reached towards Blueberry. "BuT NoBOdy cAmE—"

_BAM!_

UnderFell Sans sent Error sprawling from a solid kick square in the face as he teleported between him and Blue. For a split second, the strings went limp. Dream and I dove from the danger zone, Dream dashing over to rescue Ink, who was tangled and trapped under the rushing river, dangerously close to a waterfall, while I darted to Cherry's aid.

He dropped down beside Blue, clenched the strings, and yanked. The threads, no longer supported by active magic energy, disintegrated. Blue, shaken to the core, whimpered out a cry of gratitude, letting Cherry pull him to his feet as I came to a skidding stop, grabbing the two of them, began summoning a protection bubble—Cherry pulled away and charged Error.

The Destroyer barely managed to catch Cherry's wrist as he shot forward; the dagger-like attack trembled an inch above Error's right eye. There was a battle of the wills. Error kicked his attacker off. Blaster beams and bone attacks rained down. Error deflected some, then, summoning a blaster to temporarily absorb the damage, he locked eyes with Blueberry, snarled—_"HaRd WaY," _and escaped through a portal. Cherry kicked dirt in the direction of the hole in space.

"heck yeah!" he yelled. "you better run—!"

To everyone's horror, as the rift in space closed, a single thread shot through, lashed around Cherry, and yanked him away.

"_Cherry!_" Blue cried out, running to where he disappeared as I dropped the protection bubble. Dream and a drippy Ink soon joined. Blue was frantic. "We must save him!" he exclaimed, determined.

"Blueberry, I'm taking you back to the Doodle Sphere," Dream insisted. "Ink will go after Cherry." Ink nodded, then turned to me. I nodded as well.

"with you," I affirmed. Blue looked as though he wanted to argue, but Dream pulled him through a portal before he could do so.

It took Ink mere seconds to track the Multiverse signature. We leapt down from a portal into a desolate world. The snow was melted away, revealing dirt, trodden down flat, with husks of trees clawing towards the sky. Suddenly, Ink yanked me down into the thick brush.

"Look," he breathed.

A few yards away, Cherry wriggled from the cord that had held him captive. Error was nowhere to be seen. Instead, a new threat stood before him, calmly watching.

"despair," I hissed. An attack formed in my fist. Ink held up his hand.

"Not yet," Ink whispered. "If he attacks, we'll intervene, but we can't face this alone." Despair smiled at Cherry.

"Ah, yes. The infamous Red." He shifted the spider things at his back, seemingly pleased. "I've been wanting to meet you." A blaster came to hover over Cherry's shoulder.

"get out of my way, _freak_, before i wreck you." Despair seemed to relish the prospect.

"By all means; try." Ink promptly shut his eyes, focusing hard; he was mentally reaching out for Dream's aid. "I won't be fighting. I can't land a hit on you, you're too quick. But…" He whispered something to Cherry; only the two of them heard it. Ink had his eyes tightly shut. But I watched his mouth. "_Never enough…" _

Cherry went rigid, then started trembling. I gave Ink a light nudge.

"ink," I breathed.

"Hold on," he murmured, evidently struggling to reach Dream.

Cherry flicked his head side to side, then, his posture slumped. The blaster disappeared. He stopped shaking. He started lifting his hand.

"ink…!" I warned. His eyes opened.

"What is—?"

"cherry, NO!" I shrieked, leaping forward, reaching towards him as I flash teleported.

Hundreds of bone shards rained down, sending sharp _thunk_s resounding as they were imbedded in the top branches of the trees. As I shoved Cherry, as we both fell, I almost heaved an audible sigh. Cherry had only 1 HP. One mistake meant death. Strong shields, ones that could withstand sharp projectiles, took 1.2 seconds to summon. I didn't have that long. Before we could hit the ground, I snapped my wings out, hastily snagged and yanked Cherry to me, and wrapped them over him. Three shards had stabbed into my back and wings before the bubble formed a cracking umbrella above us, attacks falling like rain.

This was what had happened to Ink.

In an instant, the Artist leapt forward, swiping his brush to solidify a safety wall of shifting color between us and the hail of death. Cherry struggled, trying to shove me off him, but I clung on like a bull rider. A sparkle of crimson in his fist told me it was time to get bucked. I let go just in time; his thrashing knocked me away from the sharp stake that missed my chest and cracked into the underside of the shield.

"ink, move—!"

Ink whirled, barely managing to shove himself back as the tip slashed a rip in the neck loop of his scarf. Despair chuckled as bright red light roiled in the maw of a blaster leveling behind Ink. He teleported away, then realized it left Cherry exposed— I pinged and yanked him away. Changing the magic from teal to gold, I searched. Faltered. Voices.

Shouts of failures and condemnation rang in my ears: horrible insults, criticism, hatred, sorrow... despair. I heard things like— _"trash," "complete disappointment," "weakling," _and even,_ "I wish you had never been born!"_ And I could hear Cherry: terrified, grief-stricken weeping. He was judging himself. My wide eyes came to rest on Despair. He was smiling right at me, tipping his head aside as if to ask my opinion on all this. Suddenly Ink teleported beside me, whacking a projectile away.

"Snap out of it!" he exclaimed, yanking me down; if he hadn't, the second attack would have split my skull. At least Cherry was temporarily focused on us and not himself.

"ink, i got it! it's all in his head. we can't hit him, but we gotta knock him out or get him away from despair! it's the only way!" Ink threw up a massive wall of color between the three of us and Despair.

"Good job. Alright, slow Cherry down," Ink ordered, "and watch my back." Brush clenched in his left hand, he snatched the purple vial from his sash and crushed it in his right, encasing it in dripping lilac, and darted forward.

Cherry flung attacks at the Artist. He dodged and blocked. I reached out with my magic, wishing I had Papyrus's powers of gravity. Pinging Cherry's soul, I enveloped it with thick magic, squeezing and pulling down. Grunting in frustration, he wavered, limbs now heavy. At the last second, a stake formed in Cherry's fist. I barely managed to pull his arm down in time; it scratched Ink as he lunged forward.

Upon this plan failing, Cherry suddenly let himself drop. Ink missed him. As the Artist overshot, Cherry swung up his foot, brutally catching Ink in the ribs as he passed overhead. Suddenly, I tightened my grip on Cherry and threw him straight up. He slammed into Ink, who joined him on the skyward ride.

Ink, though afraid of heights, was agile and aerodynamic. Cherry, on the other hand, was not. And Ink knew it. _you have eleven yards, ink. you got this. _Ink twisted, managing to kick off Cherry's shoulder, putting some distance between them. Then he dove. Cherry reached out an arm to stop the collision— Ink's right hand latched onto his wrist.

The purple crawled up Cherry's bones, expanding rapidly, covering up to his elbow. He tried to push the stuff away with his other hand; it too was ensnared. Ink pulled his fingers from the mess with ease while Cherry remained trapped. Seconds before impact. Ink snatched the green vial and crushed it; the bubble formed just to be shattered against the ground. It was enough. It broke their fall. Success.Landing with a roll and bounding to his feet, Ink scooped Cherry up, staggering against the Sans's thrashing bulk—

"ink, _look out!"_

Ink turned just in time to see a single needle-thin blue attack, hazed in purple, burst through the wall. There was nothing he could do. I flung my hand forward. A desperate flicker of healing gold lit around Cherry's lifted soul right as the attack sliced straight through it. And Cherry went limp. _0.2 HP._

A swirl of rainbow magic lit the air. We dashed for it. Despair's twisted chuckles reverberated in the thin air as he claimed the sliver of soul, and in my mind, I heard a whisper—

_"__Thank you, Seriphim. Couldn't have done it without you. Until next time."_

We escaped through the portal.


	7. Chapter 5 - Sick Day

**_Chapter 5- Sick Day_**

We landed in HavenTale. Once called, Dream and Blue weren't far behind, and immediately set about the task of healing Cherry. Once assured his HP was stable, I left him in Dream's and Blue's care and went over to Ink, who was pacing nervously and chattering to himself a few yards away, occasionally scribbling things on his scarf; doubtless trying to recall all he could about Despair and the strange fight. He noticed me.

"How is Cherry? Is he okay?" Ink asked hopefully.

"still out cold, but'll be alright," I assured. "hp won't go above 0.8 yet, though." Ink's disconcerted frown had faded, but now deepened.

"Oh. I dearly hope the damage isn't permanent." He sighed. "I think Dream should take his memories of the whole affair. For Cherry, life is hard enough as it is. These memories won't help."

"yeah. sounds like a good idea." There was a pause.

"What _was _that?" Ink asked. "What happened to him? I've never seen anything like that before!"

"same thing that happened to you," I murmured. That earned me an alarmed, disturbed glance. Ink then turned his attention over to Cherry, still closely monitored by the other two Star Sanses.

"Could we be dealing with some sort of… psychological warfare? Mind control, perhaps?" I considered this, slowly nodding.

"possibly. despair seems to sway people into giving up."

"But how does Despair get ahold of someone's consciousness? Mind control doesn't just _happen_."

"he says something, a cryptic statement," I observed. This regained complete attention from the Artist.

"Like what?" he asked.

"with cherry, i think he said 'never enough'. he said 'so many… even yours' to you." At this, for a millisecond, a choked expression flashed through Ink's eyes. "do you know what he meant?" I pressed. Ink looked back to Cherry.

"No idea." Another pause for thought. "Apart from Nightmare," he started slowly, "there aren't any prominent telepathic Destroyers. It seems Despair can turn anyone against themselves and those around them, and he's also a soul thief. We gotta warn the other Protectors to not engage him alone. We can't have anyone else falling under his spell until we know how to break it." Finally, nodding to himself, he turned back to me and concluded. "We gotta find him and put a stop to this."

I nodded— and my phone started ringing. We both started at the sudden noise; Ink yelped slightly. Digging my phone from my pocket, I glanced at the screen. Caller ID unknown. I didn't usually answer unknown numbers. My finger wavered over the silence call… and inexplicably answered.

"… Sans?" a tentative voice asked.

"asriel?" I balked, quickly checking my watch. I wasn't late to pick the children up. "is everything alright? you still at school? i don't recognize the number."

"I'm still at school," the young prince assured. "This is the infirmary number." My soul hitched. _infirmary? _Asriel continued; I could now pick out the suppressed fear in his voice. "I didn't want to scare Mom, but... Sans, please, you've got to come get Lark."

"what happened?" I demanded, worried now, too. Curious, Ink watched me, concerned.

"She was acting rather strange at lunch time. I know she's been tired these past few days, but she seemed more sickly than sleepy. She didn't want to go to the nurse… I should have made her. She collapsed at recess. Her temperature is 103 and rising; the nurse thinks she has the flu. They've quarantined us both." A brief pause. "She's really sick, Sans… I'm scared."

Ink must have heard enough to put the pieces together, because he nodded vigorously, mouthing _"Go now." _ I nodded back, forming a protection sphere.

"i'm on my way."

I hung up, shattered the portal pendant, and bade Ink a quick farewell as the paint filled the bubble.

Leaping from the Doodle Sphere to home, I landed on the pavement around the corner of our house. Taking a split second to pinpoint the location, I teleported straight from the sidewalk into the school. Only one door separated me from my kiddo. I burst through, searching desperately. There. Asriel knelt beside one of the cots, and on it— Lark. I could see it immediately; save for her cheeks, she was white as the sheets that covered her, covered in sweat, and shaking like a leaf.

The nurse must have heard the concussive-flash and door-slam that announced my arrival, because she hurried around the corner. Slightly taken aback by the sight of a monster— skeleton, no less— in the infirmary, she paled slightly herself. But if I had it my way, I'd be doing the opposite of the Grim Reaper that she feared me to be. _i gotta get lark home. _ I strode forward.

"Um, s-sir—"

"Sans!" Asriel exclaimed in relief.

"s… a…?" Lark breathed. I was at her side in an instant.

"i'm here. it's alright." A tiny smile tugged at her lips.

"If you're their guardian," the nurse said, holding a clipboard out as far towards me as possible, away from her, "I need you to sign a release form—" Pinging the pen and clipboard right from her hands, I hastily scribbled my name, then tossed it aside.

"thanks," I murmured. I scooped Lark up. "come on kids. let's go."

"Sans, I wouldn't—!"

We were gone in a flash.

Seconds later, the three of us were bolting for the front door. Lark shuddered, then hiccupped, and turned her head to the side. Heaved. It seemed there was nothing left to throw up, though.

"I tried to warn you…" Asriel murmured, distressed.

"i'm so sorry, lark…" I breathed, flinging the door open now. "_tori, asgore!"_ I exclaimed, dashing for the couch, gingerly laying Lark atop it and snagging the thick cotton blanket draped over the edge. I could hear hurried footsteps through the hall, then down the stairs. Toriel rounded the corner.

"Sans? What is—" She caught sight of Lark. "Lark!" she gasped, running over and kneeling beside the couch.

"mom…" Lark whispered, a smile twitching across her face.

"possibly the flu," I explained hurriedly. "sounds like she's been fighting it for a few days. been like this for… about an hour, i think."

"Half," Asriel corrected. His mother's attention suddenly locked on him.

"Asriel, go upstairs," she ordered. "Send Papyrus down. Then get in the shower and scrub yourself until you're cleaner than the soap. Wash your clothes, too." Asriel appeared distressed.

"I'm so sorry… Maybe I should have acted sooner. I didn't want to scare you, I didn't know what to do; I called Sans—!"

"It's not your fault, my child," Toriel assured gently. "I'm not upset with you. Now, go." Asriel ran off. "Sans, please, try to heal her." I nodded, and Toriel stood, hurrying towards the kitchen.

My teal magic lit over Lark. But I knew it wouldn't do much good. She was suffering a unique kind of damage, not directly tied to her HP, and she was human. The odds were stacked against my skills. Until I was safely alone, thus able to use the stronger gold magic, I could try to dampen the effects. But that was all.

"i'm sorry kiddo," I breathed. "hang in there. you're gonna be ok, k?"

A ruckus of bounding footsteps on the creaky stairs announced Papyrus long before his cry did.

"LARK!" he exclaimed sorrowfully, darting over to us. "PLEASE TELL ME YOU'RE NOT DEAD!"

"bro, she's very much alive," I assured.

"BUT SHE'S NOT MOVING! OR SINGING! OR SMILING! SHE'S ALWAYS SMILING!" A grin flickered across Lark's face at this. "OH GOOD! YOU ARE OKAY! DON'T SCARE ME LIKE THAT!" Papyrus begged. "YOU NEED TO GET BETTER QUICK AS LIGHTNING! I DON'T KNOW WHAT WE'LL DO WITHOUT YOUR SMILE!" I couldn't help but grin myself. My brother was the best.

Once the "script," code, was abolished and life on the surface went from being a dream to reality, Papyrus's personality took a bit of a swing. He wasn't as boisterous and over confident as he'd always been. At first I was worried about him, fearing he had lost his spunk. But then I realized he didn't need other's approval anymore. He didn't feel the need to earn his worth or convince people he was worth getting to know. He didn't even need to convince himself. For the first time in his life, he was secure.

"Papyrus!" Toriel called from the kitchen. "Can you help me?"

"LADY TORIEL!" he exclaimed, bounding up. "OF COURSE!" He was gone as fast as he had come.

As soon as they both returned, everything blurred together. Cool towels, blankets, cook soup, keep water nearby. I was sent to find Asgore, who had left for a meeting a few hours ago. He was likely done, just, caught up chatting. But we needed him now. By the time we returned, it was evening. A huge debate ensued. Could we take care of Lark on our own? The surrounding doctor's offices and Urgent Cares turned monsters away. How would we get past the doors, even with a child in our arms? Lark was a minor. There was no guarantee she would ever be returned to us. The humans might take her away. So, could we heal her?

Toriel believed we could. The disaster had been caught in time; she would likely be fine, but only time would tell. It was decided that, if she hadn't improved by morning, we would find a way to get her admitted to a hospital. Eventually, I managed to convince the Dreemurs to get some sleep. They were mammals; they were vulnerable to this sickness. Papyrus and I were not. So, with the royal family off to bed, Paps and I combined our powers to try and heal Lark. It was surprising, how well our magic worked together, even though the gold wasn't my original skill.

Despite how hectic they had become, we talked about our days, like always, until one of us fell asleep, like always. Except, it took a lot of convincing on my part to get Papyrus to relax. He didn't need much rest, but he did need some. Eventually, I managed to send him off to bed. So I was finally the last one awake.

My hand hovered over Lark's forehead; she was still radiating heat like a sunburn. Peeling the damp cloth off, I dropped it back in the bucket. All the thoughts I had buried were surfacing, now confirmed by the disaster I had foreseen.

_why me? why now…?_

I had triumphed. My world was free. Monsterkind was on the surface. I didn't have to dread resets anymore. Even if Lark was capable of them, I doubted she would even consider it. She was genuinely kind, caring… a little angel. MY little angel. Then, Papyrus. He was as happy as he'd ever been. There weren't secrets between us anymore, either.

I lived with one foot in each world, yet belonged completely to each. I'd feared Blueberry's return would fill the void I'd temporarily fit into. Instead, somehow, Ink, Dream, and Blue accepted me. I felt like I belonged, despite not being immortal, or a powerful protector, or even a Star Sans. My life wasn't perfect, but it was darn near close.

But that was it; _my _life. Happy endings weren't the end. Life kept going. The worst struggles weren't my own anymore. That was just as awful— perhaps worse.

I swished the water around, thoroughly soaking the towel, staring at the ripples.

Yes, evil was inevitable. There would always be war between wrong and right. But I wanted there to be an end. I wanted a happy ending, once and for all! My friends didn't have that chance. Especially now that I'd seen them free for a time, when Error disappeared, I knew; it wasn't fair.

Ink bore the weight of the Multiverse, every life lost, and searched for where he belonged. Dream fought an eternal battle, often against his own brother. Blueberry had his own world and life, yes, but now that life was terribly precarious. He had a target on his back. He was terrified of bringing Error's wrath down on his friends.

I pulled the fabric from the bucket, trying to keep it from dripping everywhere, and began ringing it out.

I knew life wasn't fair. But this was completely wrong! True, they weren't perfect. But they were darn near close. So why must they suffer so? And why was I unable to change their fate? I craved the control I lacked. Maybe I could sway Ink's destiny. If we found his world, well— I didn't know what would change. But he'd be happy to know he belonged somewhere.

And— Despair. I felt my fists clench as I pictured him; water droplets splattered the floor. Where did he come from? Why did he keep singling me out yet not lay a finger on me?

Letting out a strained sigh, collecting my split nerves, I carefully rearranged the wet towel back on Lark's forehead.

It was like he could stare straight into my soul. Like he knew me, from another life or something. It made me furious. _i have to stop him, put an end to this. i have to—!_

My frustrated thoughts disappeared when a tiny hand closed around mine.

"s… ans…?" Lark whispered.

"hey kiddo," I said, smiling in relief. "yeah, i'm still here."

"scared…to sleep," she breathed.

"you can sleep, lark," I insisted. "you're safe, you're gonna be ok. i won't leave. i promise." Her eyes opened a tiny bit, a sliver of gold watching me. A tiny smile.

"th… ank…" She was out.

Then, there was also the issue of Lark.

She might not be alone. There was a stark lack of a death certificate in her family line. Yet, there was no sign of life. She had a missing relative. I was afraid to search it out, yet how could I not? I didn't want to lose her, but if she did have a surviving family member, well… I had to find them.

So many troubles and so little control. But with whatever power I had left, I had to try. No matter how impossible it seemed, I would find a way. I _would. _I would break this eternal fight, rewrite my friends' lonely fate, and make a chance for my kiddo. I would discover Lark's true home and give the Star Sanses their happy ending.

The hope of a bright future… it filled me with determination.

The moment the clock struck 6:30 the next morning, it sounded as though a thunderstorm was rushing down the stairs. I was already half way there, stumbling towards them. Toriel came into sight, Asgore and Papyrus and Asriel close behind.

"g'morning," I slurred. "lark's fine. fever broke." I gave a pathetic wave over my shoulder as I staggered up the stairs. "g'night."


	8. Chapter 6 - The Power of Knowledge

**_Chapter 6- The Power of Knowledge_**

"Sans?"

The door was half closed, and myself more than halfway through it, when Toriel caught me. I backpedaled and poked my head around the corner.

"yeah tori?" She held up a purple and silver-star lunchbox.

"I just discovered Lark left her lunch this morning. Seeing as you're heading out, do you think you could perhaps drop it by the school?"

It had taken nearly two weeks for Lark to fully recover. But she was a fighter. Asriel had even begun to get sick, too, but Tori wouldn't have it. She went full-out nurse-mom on him. He got over the sickness within days. So, both kids were back, full force. I admit, it had been nice having them home.

"sure thing," I agreed, trotting over to claim the bag. "can't have her going hungry on her first day back." Toriel nodded, appearing somewhat relieved.

"Thank you, Sans." I nodded, too, then resumed my escape.

If I hurried, I wouldn't miss my rendezvous with Ink. Searches for InkTale and the continued hunt for Despair took up my Multiverse schedule as of late. One, a fight for a happy ending. The other, an attempt to end a fight. More and more people were vanishing. True, there weren't any confirmed _sightings_, but there was no question who the perpetrator was, since many of the victims lashed out at those around them… before they dusted themselves. Despair was picking people off little by little. He had to be stopped.

Stepping down from my shortcut, my tennis shoes hit the pavement. _hmm, wonder what tori packed today. _I hopped up the stairs to the main entrance, unzipping the bag and peeking in. _carrots, cookies, juice box… heh, _I grinned to myself, pulling a double-layer plastic container from the bag and shaking my head._ she found a way to pack chicken soup._ Returning the famous cold-curing food to the lunchbox and pulling the front knob— my gaze landed on Lark.

I froze in my steps, the door swishing shut behind me. She was being led— guided on by a rather firm grip on the wrist— by a tall woman, mid 40s, raven hair falling past the shoulders, clad in a strict uniform and high-heels. The principle...? Lark saw me and faltered. The principle noticed me. It was well hidden, but I saw her expression flinch, and her hard gaze grew colder.

"what is going on?" I balked, positively baffled at the scene before me.

"You're her guardian?" the principle asked, though it was more of a statement than a question. Lark glanced fearfully between the iron-willed woman and me, as, voice low and sickly sweet, she finished— "I suppose we can do this now."

She jerked her head towards the nearby conference room as she continued to haul Lark off. I darted to catch up. Right as I reached forward to snatch Lark's hand free from the principal's, she let go anyway. So, hand in hand, I stood with my kiddo before an intimidatingly large mahogany desk, peppered with neat stacks of documents. A row of Elementary Education Service awards lined the edge. The walls boasted more trophies and diplomas, declaring— I glanced at the desk nametag— that Ms. Kershaw was a certified genius when it came to matters of language, administration, and psychology. So why was she picking a fight with Lark?

"I've seen you often, Mr. … Skeleton."

"sans," I corrected. She didn't take notice, and sat. I reluctantly did likewise, Lark sinking onto the chair beside mine. "what's this about?" I asked. "has lark done something wrong?" Ms. Kershaw appeared displeased I was asking questions already, and wasn't yet prepared with any answers. I turned to Lark. "have you broken a rule?" I asked. Lark shook her head. "did you flunk a test i didn't know about?" She shook her head. The principle cleared her throat, rudely interrupting as if to insist I talk to her and not Lark. I frowned. "would you mind clarifying why lark is here and not in class?" I prompted.

"There is not enough time in a day to handle someone like Lark, let alone a full classroom of children aside. Her entire homeroom will fall behind if her teacher continues to cater to her folly. So, I'm pulling her out." She calmly took in my expression, smiling slightly— almost smugly— as she straightened a stack of pristine papers. "She must at least _try_ to excel."

"try?" I balked. "she studies nearly twice as much as any child i've ever known," I insisted, throwing Lark an affirming glance. "yes, we know she has a slight learning disability. but there's nothing wrong with that. aren't there things you can do to help her? lots of kids struggle in school," I pointed out.

"Of course," she agreed, voice dripping with honey. "We've tried everything we can. But she isn't responding to our methods," the condescending principle replied. "She is lazy and obstinate; a social misfit, too." Kershaw sat back a bit as she warned— "Lark is going to fail the grade."

"i know my kiddo," I insisted, frowning again. "she's not lazy or obstinate. she's consistently persevering. and, i wouldn't say she's a social misfit! she's quiet, but she has a friendly personality and a heart of gold." _literally. _ "there's no reason she should flunk. i've seen her grades. she's staying afloat. she's doing well at her own pace, and the year isn't even a quarter in. you don't know she is going to fail. there must be some mistake." Kershaw ignored me.

"I recommend putting her back a year or two." _are you deaf? _I wondered towards her.

"that'd just make things worse for lark. she needs patient mentoring— not babying, not discipline," I added, noticing Lark's upset gaze land across the room. My eye lights went out when I saw what she was looking at. Stacks upon stacks of huge math test books, a box of erasers beside. _she's been here often... punished? she's done nothing wrong!_

"Ipsa scientia potestas est orbis terrarum expurgare," the woman declared calmly, snapping me from my observations, an air of superiority about her. I stared at the principle, eyes widening in surprise. Her condescending smile grew slightly. "'Knowledge is the power to change the world,'" she explained, as if spelling it out for a child. "We strive for excellence at this school. I've spoken with the middle school administrator. It sounds as if her, ah, 'brother' displays similar faults. Perhaps it runs in the 'family.' Lark must pursue learning, or fall behind. If she can't accept that and make a change to put in effort… I believe it is time to hand the two children off to a different administration. Enroll them elsewhere."

I couldn't believe my ears. I thought cruel and corrupt principles only existed in movies! I knew this woman was calculating from the moment I laid eyes on her, but this. This…! I was actually starting to get mad. I felt indignant, frustration boiling closer to the surface. I should give her a piece of my mind. But then, for a split second, I saw her gaze flick to the upper corner behind me. I didn't turn. I glanced at the reflection of the cabinet behind her. And I saw it: a security camera. _she's trying to make me snap. _Alright, that does it.

I turned to Lark.

"hey, lark? is there anything in this place that belongs to you?" Lark tipped her head aside inquisitively. "pencils, books… that adorable backpack?" This time, Lark nodded. Smiling gently at her, I stood, prompting her to do the same. "alright, lets go get it." I looked right into Kershaw's cold eyes as I concluded— "because we're leaving."

Kershaw seemed to pop a mental circuit as we strode out, shocked that I dare defy her. Her voice suddenly lost its honey as the venom surfaced; she harped on and on about how the day wasn't over, and how I didn't answer her. As we walked off, holding my hand up so she could see, I flicked my wrist in a "blah blah blah" way, then snapped my fingers shut. _shut up. _

With that small victory out of the way, I managed to collect my frustration and teleport us all the way to the classroom. It was lunchtime; the room was empty. We collected Lark's books. I slung the now heavy backpack over my shoulder and Lark carried her pencil pouch and lunchbox. Just as we were turning to leave, Lark tugged at my sleeve.

"say goodbye?" she requested softly.

"you wanna say goodbye to your friend?" I asked. "of course."

Lark nodded happily, pulling a carrot from her lunchbox, and scrambled over… to the hamster cage. After a moment, I let out the sigh I'd tried to suppress. I'd hoped she had a _human _friend. But, still; I was gonna sneak in later and swap that hamster out for a different one. She returned. We continued. We were almost through the door. But we weren't fast enough. Principle Kershaw barred the way.

"You can't take the girl, and you can't ignore what I've said!" she insisted, surprisingly intent. "I will be drawing up the withdraw paperwork this afternoon and I expect signatures by evening. I will not have this school tainted any longer." I tried and failed to hide a small scoff of disgust and shock. Kershaw smirked. "If this all offends you, well… it's the truth. And the truth is, Lark and the goat boy are insufficient for this school—"

Suddenly, I took a swift step forward, startling her a step back, into the doorway… and out of the security cameras' sight.

"truth?" I hissed, dangerously quiet. "you want some truth? let me tell you something. this child, as you seem to have forgotten— or remember and hate— saved an entire race. she outsmarted death countless times. she remained determined in the most dangerous of situations, risking her life to save others. to save us monsters. i see it's hard for you to comprehend, but we're _people_, just like you. do you know how many years it took for you to realize people with dark skin were just as much human as those with white?" No response. "about 246 years. people _died_ in a war to set them free. a war trapped my kind. but thanks to lark, it didn't take a war to free us. 'those who forget history are doomed to repeat it.' that was a quote by george santayana. yes, perhaps the man was slightly morally misguided, but a renown philosopher nonetheless. another quote of his, 'the truth is cruel, but it can be loved, and it makes free those who have loved it.' you wanted truth, is this what you had in mind?"

I couldn't help but chuckle lightly at the increasing shock spreading across Kershaw's face.

"yes, i know you think us monsters are illiterate, useless parts of society. but not so. also, you should work on your latin. i believe the phrase is 'ipsa scientia potestas est _mutare_ mundi.' because, knowledge is the power to _change_ the world. not _purge_ it. yes, i know your languages as well as your history. how? well, i had a family member who taught me science, reading, history… and how to be kind. it's been passed down for years. guess it runs in the family. now, you, on the other hand— your racist slurs and tongue flapping are far from flattering. you should try being civil. and don't think i failed to notice, lots of monster kids used to attend this school. but lark and asriel are the last ones, aren't they? you've been rooting them out little by little. by taking away our chance to learn, you're taking away our chance to change the world. even live in it! you're trying to _purge_."

I took another step, causing her to flinch away. Looks like she was scared of monsters after all.

"so have it your way— we're leaving— but you are not going to smear our names on the way out. you can't stop me from taking my kiddo away from this awful place. and i'm leaving without signing any of your documents, documents that will leave us uncompensated for the tuition we worked so hard for, to keep our children here. we'll be back with our _own _legal terms. you have 5 seconds to move. and if you don't…" I couldn't help one more scare. Magic static flickered around me, my left eye flickering its shattered light, and I quietly chuckled, "… you're gonna have a bad time."

Mere minutes later, Lark, Asriel, and I burst through the doors into home.

"we're homeschooling," I declared, loud enough for everyone gathered in the kitchen to hear. Lark and Asriel gasped in delighted surprise.

"Sans, what on earth…?" Toriel balked, coming into sight of us.

"Yes, Sans, what is this about?" Asgore prompted.

"i'll explain more later. simply put, the administers at the school are strongly against monsterkind, and have been treating our children with the contempt they feel for us."

The shock on the Dreemurs' faces told me Asriel had remained silent about his mistreatment, as well. Papyrus came bounding down the stairs. Asriel and Lark darted over and hastily filled him in on the exciting new developments. I continued.

"tori, it's been your dream to teach," I pointed out. "this is your chance. lark and asriel need a teacher who will invest in their education and help them along. especially lark. no one understands her well enough. except _you _tori. you could help her. and, asgore," I added, "asriel will need extra instruction in the field of government and history; the prince is willing to learn, all he needs is the guidance. you're the only one perfectly suited to grow him from a prince into a king."

Papyrus's reaction to the news was the same as the children's had been; he gave a delighted gasp. Swooping Lark and Asriel up, he spun them around, all giggling gleefully all the way, exclaiming—

"WOWIE! YOU HEAR THAT? WE GET TO SPEND THE _WHOLE_ _DAY_ TOGETHER!"

Toriel and Asgore exchanged a glance.

"I never really thought about it before," Asgore mused. "Life is busy, but, surely it isn't so busy as to leave our children out of the schedule." He glanced at Asriel, a look of pride filling his eyes.

"Yes, I agree," Toriel affirmed slowly, thinking as she spoke. "And, even though Lark has a unique learning style, she is a bright child, and deserves to be given the same chance as any." The Dreemurs seemed to have the same telepathic thought and came to an unspoken agreement.

"Of course, we will all have to discuss it at some length," Asgore admitted. "But… I believe you may be on to a wonderful idea, Sans."

I felt a smile spread across my face, and then Lark pin my arms to my sides in the biggest hug she had to give.

"thank you, sans!" she whispered joyfully. I chuckled lightly, returning her embrace.

"you shoulda said something, kiddo," I chided gently. "and you gotta promise me you'll get out in the neighborhood and make some _human _friends, ok?" Lark considered this for a moment, then gave a little nod. And I felt my smile grow.

About half an hour later, I realized I should probably go clear my Multiverse schedule.

"heya, paps, i'mma drop by the sphere, let the others know i'll be here for a while, k?"

"OH, SANS, WAIT—!" Papyrus exclaimed, preventing me from forming the shield as he suddenly reached out to stop me. "I'VE BEEN WANTING TO ASK YOU…"

"yeah bro?" I asked after a strange pause, curious. Papyrus fidgeted, awkwardly wringing his hands, nervous.

"I, UM, WAS WONDERING… COULD I POSSIBLY SOME TIME, MAYBE, PERHAPS…" He huffed a sigh, and with sudden bold abandon, announced— "I WANT TO COME TO THE MULTIVERSE WITH YOU!"


	9. Chapter 7- Good Numbers&Eternal Slumber

**Chapter 7- "Good Numbers" (Eternal Slumber)**

"what was i thinking?! after all those years and years of wanting to be in the royal guard, to fight evil, to protect people, to make a difference— not to mention endless chances of making new friends— he hasn't changed! of course he hasn't! what was i thinking?! monsterkind is free, all is well!— then he finds out i've been gallivanting all about the cosmos, fighting evil and protecting people— and making hundreds of new friends! of course he'd want to come! i can't let him do that! he's too… he's too nice! too good for this world! it's more _dangerous_ than _ever_ right now. what if he got hurt? or WORSE?! i can't protect him in the great big multiverse, and i'm not convinced he'd do it for himself! oh, what am i gonna do? this is a disaster…"

Dream slowly nodded, taking in my ranting.

"Well… what do you want to hear?" I stopped my aggravated pacing to throw him an inquisitive glance.

"huh?" Dream stood, having sat in the front row of my life's drama for long enough, and tried to push back a light smile.

"This isn't my call. I think you have some valid points, yet, do try and consider all the angles. He is your brother, yes, but you can't control or guarantee his safety. At the end of the day, he's still his free-spirited-self. If he's set on this, I doubt you'll know a moment's peace until you've said yes or changed his mind." I nodded absentmindedly.

Okay, yeah; that wasn't what I wanted to hear. I was about to ask Dream for any advice on how to change Papyrus's mind but was distracted by Ink and Blue, who had just touched down in the Sphere a few yards away.

The fight, evidently, had been won at a price. Both appeared drained, and Blue's HP had taken a dip in the yellow zone; Ink set about restoring it. As I watched, as Blueberry chattered to the Artist with a tired smile and tried to lift the Artist's mood— which appeared to be working— I saw that Blue's HP refused to fill up. It struggled at the green's quarter mark, flickered, then dropped and stabilized at the halfway zone. Dream watched, also.

"why isn't he healing?" I asked.

"He never fully recovered," Dream replied softly. I turned wide eyes on him, disconcerted.

"when he got between ink and error…?" I affirmed, us both leaning in close to quietly confer. Dream nodded solemnly. I flinched as memories of the cracks returned, of the hit that sealed Blueberry's doom. The Smolest one stepped between the battling Artist and Destroyer. It nearly killed him. "surely fusing with chara should have fixed any physical damage," I pointed out. Dream nodded again.

"It should have. Fusing with a human is like a reset; his body should have no memory of the injuries. He's even brought his maximum HP up since then, yet the percentage stays the same. It's always 16% less than he should have." Dream hesitated, but ultimately confided— "I'm beginning to fear there's something wrong with his soul. It's not like—"

"Hi guys! Whatch'ya talking about?" I almost yelped when Blueberry spoke up. For a second, I fought to conceal my choked horror that he had heard us, but then realized he actually hadn't."You look like you're discussing something important! What's the topic?" I was at a loss for words until Dream saved the moment.

"We're talking about… good numbers! Like our favorite and such," Dream explained; I hoped Blue wasn't as good at detecting half-lies as I was. "Mine is infinity, because no one is left out. Ink once said something like 'astronomical number,' whatever that is."

"Mweh! Fantastic! My favorite is infinity, too, Dream!" Blue grinned. "Everyone's included." They both looked to me. I shrugged.

"seven."

"How so?" Blueberry asked.

"well, it's the perfect number," I reasoned, "and all the good things in my life happened on seven. that's how old lark was when she came to the underground, and how old i was when papyrus was born." Chuckling now, I shook my head, kicking my toe at the ground with a grin. "paps was supposed to be my seventh birthday present, but he was seven days late. heh." After considering this, smiling a bit, I shrugged again. "seven's good."

When I looked up from my sneakers, I saw Blue's eyes were doing that kawaii-sparkle thing, and Dream's starry eyes seemed to be trying to do the same. They both seemed completely enamored of this answer.

"Aww, you're so sweet!" Blueberry exclaimed.

"My goodness, Serif, that's adorable!" Dream concurred.

"oh yeesh, guys," I murmured, "it's not that interesting."

Thankfully, the conversation was brought to a stop as Ink gave a surprised, murmuring yelp of exasperation; it was an interesting sound.

"Oi, again? What even?"

"What is it, Ink?" Dream asked, curious. Ink frowned at a Window.

"StoryShift's world flickered, an incomplete distress signal, for the third time now. It's like it can't make up its mind on whether there's a problem or not." He sighed, looking a little disappointed. A portal formed, and Ink stood.

"No, Ink, you need rest. I can go," Dream offered.

"But you've had a crazy day, too," Ink pointed out lamely. "You only got back an hour ago."

"Which is 60 minutes more than you've had," Dream insisted, smiling lightly.

"I could," Blueberry interjected hopefully.

"You're just as tired, Blue, and hurt," Dream gently chided. "Let me." Ink appeared to be considering this lovely offer, but hesitant to send his friend instead.

"i'll go," I suddenly volunteered. They all glanced my way, surprised, and slightly relieved. "you stay here and chill till i get back, k?" I suggested, stepping towards the swirling gateway, waving my hand dismissively. "no one gets enough sleep around here, goodness." And with that, I jumped through the gateway.

Stumbling through to the other side of the portal, I landed in the snowy forests of StoryShift. This world wasn't aware of the Multiverse. I'd have to keep an eye open for Asriel's puzzles and Chara's checkpoints; hopefully I wouldn't run into the Dreemur siblings. My presence would be hard to explain, and the fact I wasn't their king, despite being a Sans. I shook my head, searching for town. _this universe is so complicated._

After wandering for a solid ten minutes, I began to question if there was really a threat here. I hadn't heard any fights, sensed any glitches, or found any dust piles. I couldn't even find Snowdin, so that meant the potential "danger" was out _here_, in the middle of nowhere. Probably a false alarm. Yet… I wasn't sure. An uneasy feeling was growing in my mind. I felt strangely… ill at ease? Something was off. _danger? _Pausing for a moment, I glanced around—something yanked me into the shadows from behind.

In an instant, something was coiling tight around my chest, pinning my arms to my sides, and around my waist, shoulders, and legs. I struggled frantically. I couldn't break away. I opened my mouth to call out for help—a dark hand clamped over it… and forced something down my throat. A horridly sharp, acrid taste assaulted my senses. Panicking, I snapped my wings out and summoned a partial shield around me. The strong burst of light threw my attacker aside. I was dropped to the ground.

Quivering on hands and knees, I hacked up black goop. But I knew it wasn't enough. A dark chuckle snapped my attention to the treeline.

"Wow, Serif," Nightmare said, smirking, rising back to his feet. "I'd forgotten how annoying you can be. And how much I particularly hate you." I stared at him in horror, then was suddenly thrown into another coughing fit—to no avail, this time.

"w-what did you do to me?" I demanded shakily.

"I was expecting Dream, or even Ink, but not their little _canary_. I have no interest in fighting you today," he stated boredly, completely ignoring my question. "You're not a one-hit-wonder anymore, and that foresight of yours protects you from instantly critical hits." He took a step towards the murky shadows, then, as he melted away, cast a glance over his shoulder and added—"But, enjoy your little nap."

An unnatural weariness washed over me. Deeply alarmed, I hastily formed a wobbly protection bubble and shattered the portal pendant.

I stumbled into the Doodle Sphere.

"guys, help," I called out, "something's wrong!" The Star Sanses came running.

"What do you mean? Are you okay?" Blue asked concernedly.

"i don't know," I admitted, and hastily began recounting my encounter. "nightmare ambushed me. he didn't try to kill me, just… forced me to swallow something—i couldn't cough it up—and left with the cryptic words 'enjoy your nap.'" A wave of weariness hit me. "and i feel really sick. and kinda scared. and… tired…" Without warning, Dream pinged my soul, enveloping it in a cloud of magic.

"Please, don't let it be too late…" he murmured. Now I was moderately scared.

"what? what are you—do you know what…?"

"You couldn't cough the stuff up because it adhered directly to your soul. Nightmare and I have the power of sleep."

"well, that's not so bad," I murmured, nearly grinning. How silly. Dream shook his head.

"It's more than a nap! Nightmare uses it as poison. It's like an overdose of sleeping pills. If I can't get it out—if you fall asleep—you'll never wake up." Ink and Blue gasped in horror. Fear spiked through my soul. An unnatural explosion of terrors filled my mind. A second later, another burst of fatigue assaulted me. "Serif, stay calm," Dream warned. "The more panicked you are, the faster your soul pulses, and the faster it's gonna take effect." I tried to block the irrational thoughts out. It wasn't working; another effect of the magic.

"You'll be alright, Serif!" Blueberry insisted, trying to comfort me. "Don't worry, Dream will fix it! Dream knows how to fix nearly everything!" He glanced at Dream for confirmation. But Dream's paled eye lights told me otherwise. "…Dream?" Blue asked nervously.

"It's already absorbed," he breathed. "I… don't know what to do."

I felt fear take grip again as he reluctantly released my soul. Frantic banter broke out between my friends. But I didn't catch their words. I was too busy trying to keep from drowning in the storm raging within. _keep it together. don't panic. it'll be ok somehow. don't panic. don't—_ but it didn't matter, did it? _no, don't give up! _I would die regardless. _i don't believe it. that's the fear talking, just… trust your friends. _A breath. _this doesn't… feel good… _Just as my energy level dropped again—

"… gotta hurry!" I snapped out of my daze to see Blue and Dream scamper a few feet away and summon a roiling cloud of magic. _what are they—?_

"Serif, look at me," Ink ordered, grabbing my shoulders. I obeyed. "I know you're scared, but don't panic. Dream and Blue are gonna find a way to use Dream's magic to cancel out the effects." I nodded reluctantly. "We can ride this out. Don't close your eyes. Stay awake."

"ok," I agreed. I forced myself to focus my restless gaze, choosing to note the different patterns in Ink's eyes, attempting to memorize the sequence, giving my mind something to concentrate on.

"What's your favorite color?" Ink asked. _eye patterns, ok, yellow, green. triangle, seven point star. _I gave him a slanted frown.

"teal, duh. you know you're supposed to ask hard questions so i actually have to think, right?" _red, orange. double swirl, triple square. _Ink appeared slightly surprised.

"But… that was a really hard question! I can _never_ decide—! Okay, whatever, fine," he muttered. _purple, sky blue. exclamation mark, four pointed star. _"What's 9 multiplied by 112?"

"1,008," I murmured boredly. Ink balked.

"How did you just…?" _emerald, navy. swirl, another seven pointed star._

"easy. 12 times 9 is 108, and then it's another zero—"

"Forget I asked. What are the first five numbers of pi?" Despite everything, I giggled tiredly. _easy. he's really bad at this. also, lime, crimson. circle, leaf-looking thing._

"3.14159265358979—"

"Okay just stop," Ink muttered. I giggled again; the sound seemed far away.

"i could keep going _allll_ day," I murmured, donning a lopsided grin.

"You're weird," Ink concluded. The grin grew.

"hm, what's your favorite, ink?"

"What?" _tan, violet. triangle, question mark._

"apple is probably the best, but cherry is also good. and there's key lime, strawberry, pumpkin… pi is _infinitely _delicious. i could go _on and on_, it's rather _irrational—"_

"Your puns are insufferable," Ink frowned. "And no more numbers, you're too smart."

"okeydokey." _red, black… black?_

My eyes snapped open as Ink shook me.

"Focus," he encouraged. I nodded, trying again, just to be yanked from the dark a few seconds later. "Serif, come on," Ink tried again. "Okay, remind me. How did you meet Dream and I?" I frowned, mind struggling to put memories into words.

"'was… long ago…?" _orange…? 'x' mark, lightning. "_justa weird day, was? can't… think…"

"Serif!" My eyes jerked open again.

The intervals of blackness were getting longer. A wave of panic kicked in my mind as I sensed my control slipping. At this realization, my eye lights shrank. Then they dilated. The world turned unbearably bright. My eyes flinched shut. I couldn't get them to open again. Distantly, I felt Ink shaking my shoulders. Suddenly, I collapsed. Ink snagged me before I could hit the ground. I tried to stand. I couldn't.

"I can't keep him up!" Ink exclaimed, sinking to his knees. Rushing footsteps approached.

"Keep his head higher than his soul; don't let him lie down," Dream ordered. Ink slipped an arm tight behind my shoulders to keep me upright.

"so… _tired," _I breathed.

"Serif!" My gaze relit, landing on Blue. "You should keep awake," he suggested, frightened. My vision was dimming again.

"can't… stay…" Suddenly, Dream all-out slapped me. My eyes opened for a few seconds.

"Stay with me!" he exclaimed. "Ink, green," he requested, fumbling with something around my neck. Unclasping the portal pendant and snatching the flask from Ink, he shoved them at Blueberry. "Go find his Papyrus," Dream instructed.

"B-But the world is sealed!" Blue stammered in dismay. "I can't get in!"

"Go. I'll join you soon," Dream insisted. "I made it, I can break it, but you can wear it down. Now, go! Hurry!" I didn't see him leave. Noise was beginning to fade in and out.

"How long…?!" Ink asked anxiously.

"Don't know…" Dream replied, "pretty sure… will start to…" I missed a sentence or two. Another intense shake pulled me back to consciousness.

"Come on, Serif, stay awake! Don't give in!"

All I wanted to do was sleep. I was so, so tired. Every bone felt dead, my very soul weighed down by the goop of exhaustion. Existence was losing meaning. I forgot why it even mattered, that I fight it. It was just a nap, right? At Dream's request, though, I tried a little harder. Mentally reaching out, I grasped for something to hold on to. But there was nothing. I couldn't understand their words anymore. It was just garbled buzzing. I was slipping away. It was scary… but I couldn't resist the black any longer. Distantly, I felt something press against the sides of my skull, and barely made out the faint _"forgive me" _as inexpressibly bright light flooded my senses.

My eyes snapped open. All I could see was blinding gold-white. It _burned. _I sensed a weak whimper slip past my now tightly clenched teeth. _too bright… stop… stop… pain… please… _The deadly darkness pulled at my consciousness. But the light stubbornly held on. I feared the battle would rent my mind in two. I don't know how long I suffered under the searing bright. Time got jumbled. It felt like I'd been—and would be—like this forever. But then, the firmness on my skull disappeared. The light subsided.

My head was tipped back, but I couldn't see the sky. Catatonic, I blindly stared wide-eyed ahead, trying to get my vision to come into focus. Blinked. Still no visuals. A fuzzy noise faded in.

"S… if… S… eri… f… Seri… Serif! Can you hear me?" I managed to skip a labored breath, sighing afterwards. "Oh, thank goodness…" Ink sighed, too. "The worst is past. Dream had to go help Blue get Papyrus, but he's on his way now. You're gonna be okay, but, try and stay awake just a little bit longer, k?"

I struggled to revive my mind for the next few minutes, aided by the occasional shake or poke from Ink. Then, eventually—

"I can't keep this up," Ink said, shifting me. "You get heavy after a while, you know?" A slight hitch in my breath was the best I could do at a chuckle. Based on the source of the sound, I guessed he leaned me back against the side of his shoulder.

"keep t… talk," I murmured, still trying to blink the haze out of my eyes.

"Keep talking? Wow, I don't hear that often. I'm gonna take advantage of this opportunity. Don't expect one coherent train of thought. You'll have to focus extra hard to understand what I'm saying. That's good, I guess. Oh, this is my chance! This is great, I don't think I ever told you about the time when Dream…"

From there, Ink rattled off story after story, usually funny or exciting ones in order to keep me from dozing. He certainly had plenty to say. But, after a while, he went silent.

"You're safe now," he said gently, shifting me to a more horizontal position. "You can sleep."

I still stared ahead blindly, frowning and blinking. I felt frayed, sapped like an empty battery, yet snagged in an overstimulated state of mind.

"wanna… can't," I muttered.

"Sorry, I'm not singing." I gave a half chuckle. "It's alright if you can't yet," Ink assured me. "You will soon." There was a pause. "I'm super sorry this happened... but… thank you, Serif." Ink said softly. I managed to force a few blinks, the fuzziest splotches of color flickering in my sight.

"hnn?" Oddly, I picked out the slightest quiver in Ink's voice. It fluttered to rest as he admitted—

"Thank you. I think your intervention… saved Dream's life? I don't think he would have made it. If he had gone. I wouldn'ta known what to do." Another pause. "Thank you." I smiled lightly. _of course._

Ink talked quietly for a while longer, trying to sooth my split nerves. I started to drift. My eyelids—which I thought had been permanently seared open—started to get heavy. The last memory I recalled for certain was Papyrus scooping me up. The last of the anxiety melted away, and I let go. Darkness wrapped me up like a blanket. And I fell safely asleep.


	10. Chapter 8 - Sleep Over

**_Chapter 8- Sleep Over_**

I was coaxed awake, inexplicably drawn back to consciousness. Slowly, my eyes drifted open. There was a thick yet unobtrusive blackness all about, save for a faint golden-yellow glow illuminating the immediate area. It was tranquil.

My gaze focused on what had woken me. Dream was there, flopped onto the side of the bed, head resting on folded arm, reaching towards me with the other. I realized the gentle light came from my soul, encased in healing magic. I couldn't tell if he was asleep or not. To test, I focused on the lazy pulsing of my soul; a flare of teal flickered amongst the gold. With a surprised gasp, Dream snapped his head up; the tired, semi-alarmed expression morphed into a relieved smile.

"heya dream," I slurred, happy to see him.

"Serif! Thank heavens, you're okay," he whispered, looking grateful. "Sleep well?" I couldn't decide between a chuckle or a frown; a blank stare was apparently telling enough. "Sorry, bad question," Dream admitted. A brief grin tugged at my face. I sluggishly glanced around again, realizing I had questions.

"where…?" Dream laughed quietly.

"In the True Lab of an unnamed, unfinished universe. Everything else is sealed. Ink's gone to try and find an opening in your world, but I doubt we'll be going anywhere till morning. Not the best thought-out plan, but we weren't sure how long your brother would be able to stay inside the Doodle Sphere; it was a miracle it let him in at all."

I became aware of Papyrus behind me, hugging me like a life raft, face buried in my hoodie. Beyond him, the tip of an azure bandanna steadily rose and fell; Blueberry was snuggled into the back of my bro's scarf.

"He was really worried about you," Dream said, implying Papyrus. "He's been like that for hours."

"time?" I asked, lightly confused.

"About 2:00 in the morning. You should sleep longer." I frowned, somewhat nervous at the concept of surrendering to the darkness again. I shook my head slightly, both in disagreement of Dream's suggestion and to keep myself awake.

"i'm not tired anymore…" I murmured. Dream chuckled.

"Only a bit, Serif. I can fix that." It seemed he was planning on doing something about my insomnia, when he added—"It's about time you took a vacation, anyway. Rest for a while when you get home too, alright?"

I understood his meaning; I should lay low for a bit. I nodded slightly, acknowledging the fact it'd be nice to take a break. Dream smiled.

A warm, gentle shower of golden speckles glowed faintly about my soul. Peace washed through my mind, melting fears away. It was as soft as a lullaby. As my surroundings blurred, going black, the last thing I saw was Dream still smiling at me, an unreadable expression behind his eyes, now. I thought he whispered something. I couldn't catch what he said. I did my best to return a clumsy, lopsided grin of thanks. It fell neutral. A silent, gentle melody breathed my name. _sleep. _Somehow I knew; there would be no nightmares waiting for me tonight. Only happy memories. I was safe.

It was like no time passed. Suddenly, on instinct, I rolled. My hand was swinging down before my eyes could open or mind register. A startled shriek snapped me awake. Luckily, I had reached safely over Dream, but Ink—who had been partially sprawled across Dream and the edge of the enormous bed—flailed as I slapped him square in the face. At the same time, there was a muffled squeak as Papyrus did the same thing, surprising Blueberry awake as he reached across him and pounded the empty air. Two _THUDS _rang out as both flopped over the edge of the bed. All were instantly awake.

"Guess the slumber party is over," Blue yawned, sitting up from the floor and stretching, wincing slightly.

"oops," I murmured. "sorry 'bout that. guess it's 6:30— OOF!" I was suddenly cinched in an embrace so tight it felt like all my bones were going to snap.

"SANS!" Papyrus exclaimed, voice breaking, hugging me fiercely. "YOU'RE AWAKE!"

"hi paps," I wheezed. "can't breathe...!" He loosened his grip slightly.

"BROTHER… I ALMOST LOST YOU." Everyone went completely silent at his sob. It sunk in just how worried he had been. At times I forgot he wasn't used to the brushes with death like I was.

"i'm ok, bro. i'm ok," I insisted, managing to free my arms and return his hug. "don't worry about me."

"HOW CAN I NOT?!" he exclaimed in dismay.

"well, don't worry anymore. we're going home now. right?" I asked, glancing at Ink, who was on his feet, trying to find his balance after the rare nap and shocking wakeup call.

"Yep. Found an opening. It's safe for you to go home."

I nodded, glad. I couldn't think very straight. Conscious, yes. Awake? No. But two important things began to sink in: Papyrus was in the Multiverse, and…

"the kids!" I exclaimed. Papyrus gasped in horror.

"IT'S WEDNESDAY!"

"we gotta get home _now_—!"

"Doesn't your family homeschool Lark and Asriel?" Blueberry asked.

"YES, BUT WEDNESDAY IS OUR DAY TO TEACH THEM!"

"science and math—"

"AND P.E.! AND COOKING CLASS IS BEFORE LUNCH—"

"and lab comes right after!" I considered this anew. "maybe we should change that to _before _lunch in the future. post-lunch biology might be a problem."

Dream's chuckle temporarily distracted us from our dilemma. Shaking his head, he swung his legs over the edge and stood, reached for the unreachable ceiling, then sighed with another happy chuckle.

"Is this normal life?" he asked, brushing his fingers through space and beginning to pull open a widening, glowing gateway. "You need to tell me more some time. It sounds absolutely wonderful."

"thank you dream," I breathed, scrambling up and darting for the portal— just to have Ink snag the back of my hoodie as the floor tiles churned in my sight and I took a plunge.

"Maybe you should just show a science video," the Artist suggested. "And get some coffee, and naps. Not in that order." I groaned.

"but we were gonna do endo/exothermic reactions today…"

"What are you teaching, intro to physical science or honors chemistry? Take it easy on yourself and the children today." I was placed in Papyrus's care, who was thankfully a morning person and steady enough for both of us.

"guess that means no worksheets to grade," I murmured, still rather disappointed about the experiment, but beginning to _warm up_ to the idea of taking a bit of a break. "alright." I smiled at Dream and Blue, too. "thank you guys." They grinned back.

Just as Papyrus and I stepped through the portal, to unlock our universe's front door and go home— I caught Pap's glance over his shoulder, back at the world we left behind. I couldn't read his expression. He got his wish. He'd come to the Multiverse. Now, after seeing how dangerous it could be… A grin twitched across my face as the color and shining stars blurred in details of our house.

Perhaps the whole fiasco was for the best. I doubted Papyrus would ask to go back anytime soon, and though school was in session, I would practically be on summer break for a while. I smiled.

_guess everything worked out ok after all._


	11. Chapter 9 - Rebellion

**_Chapter 9- Rebellion_**

"Serif?" My only response was a sluggish groan. It hadn't even been a full day since my denied deadly nap. All I wanted to do was sleep. So I didn't reply. Maybe they'd go away. "Could you please wake up?" the voice persisted. "I need your help with… a problem."

"s'like midnight," I slurred, still trying to cling to peace. "can't it wait till—" I stopped. _hold up… _Was I dreaming? "ink?"

"Mmhm," the Artist affirmed. I sighed, trying to shake off the fog and figure out which way was up.

"why're you—? wait, the world's seal broke?!" I exclaimed, rolling over and opening my eyes to find Ink… and Papyrus. Around his neck— my hand went to my chest; the portal pendant was gone.

"Seal didn't break. He, ah, let me in," Ink explained. I gaped at Paps in disbelief.

"HI BROTHER…" he greeted, forcing a smile and hiding a cringe.

"So, uh… yeah. I'm gonna let you two sort this out."

And with that, Ink disappeared, leaving both of us staring at each other in total shock.

Breakfast the next morning was surprisingly quiet. Papyrus stared down at the marshmallows floating in his cereal, looking stressed as a wet cat. I was still too shocked to speak. Asgore glanced between us and the daily paper with raised eyebrows, looking curious, but kept silent. Toriel's gaze was fixed on the answer sheet before her, still as stone, save to straighten her reading glasses or mark answers on the tests. Lark and Asriel watched her every move with rapt attention, hoping for a good grade. Even Basil the hamster— who was thriving in his new home— was silent in his cozy box house, gazing at the squeaky wheel which he usually raced in each morning. But not today.

So everything was perfectly, awkwardly silent.

When I ended back upstairs, I found Ink. He risked the quick visit to assure me Papyrus was only in a universe for less than a minute; no harm done. He'd sensed someone go through a Window but hadn't seen who. He went over to investigate and Papyrus came tumbling back through before the portal could even close. Mere seconds. Something must have spooked him back to safety. Peculiar, really.

So, after scolding Paps and asking if he'd had his full of rebellion, I decided to drop the issue. He had promptly promised to not steal the pendant again and seemed quite sorry about the unpleasant wakeup call it caused me. Even so, I had a hard time shaking off my daze. In all my life, I had never considered Papyrus capable of rebellion. In all my life, I had never been so wrong.

"Is something amiss, Sans?" I turned a nervous, slightly forced smile on Grillby.

"pardon?" I asked, flat even to my ears.

Papyrus, who was just coming around the corner with a bucket-sized bowl of popcorn, evidently heard our fire friend's question and casually slid back out. A second later he thought better of it, darted in, dropped the snack on the side table, and darted back out again. Grillby watched this go down with a puzzled expression.

"What's going on?"

"what do you mean?" I asked, trying to seem like my usual relaxed self while thumbing the play button on the remote, hoping the movie would put an end to the conversation. "all's normal, far as i can tell."

Practically the whole block had ended up in our backyard that afternoon, but Alphys, Grillbz, Papyrus and I had opted for a movie indoors. Alphys was devoted to her computer, finishing filling out the last of her lab reports, headphones leaking faint K-Pop music, and of course, Paps had just made a break for it. Grillby's expression spoke volumes of "not buying it."

"For starters, you're avoiding my question. Second, you're acting tired and lazy, something that doesn't really describe you anymore. Papyrus is avoiding everyone and has the aura of a kicked puppy today. If I didn't know better I'd say you two had a falling out."

I dropped the act and let out a heavy sigh.

"you know me too well, grillbz. i can't… i don't even know. it's like one minute i thought i knew what i was doing, but am i even doing this right? you don't get taught this stuff. don' know whether to be mad or laugh. actually— i can't really do this right now, ya know?" Grillby had his amused grin fixed on the television, but he couldn't hide it. Flustered, I huffed, and he chuckled.

"You're an enigma," he said, shaking his head, "and currently making as much sense as a drunk. Whatever is going on, I'm sure you'll manage to figure it out. Don't worry so much. Also, you should know you're a terrible liar." A quick laugh slipped past my defense.

"yeah, _sure_, whatever you say." Gesturing to the screen, I asked— "now can we escape reality for a while, please?" while digging to the bottom of the popcorn and passing him a handful of kernels.

"Sure," he chuckled. "What are we watching?"

"no idea. some human classic. something about an evil magic ring and a hobbit, whatever that is."

"Sounds intriguing," Grillbz admitted, tossing one of the kernels in his mouth; it popped.

"yeah," I agreed. "humans sure have some wild ideas."

_BANG! _We three jumped as Undyne enthusiastically kicked the swinging backdoor nearly off its hinges.

"Hey, EVERYONE!" She yelled. "Guess what?!"

I heard Toriel hurry from the kitchen, murmuring "Undyne, please, the door…" Grillby and I gave her our attention. Alphys let her headphones, askew from her startled jump, slip off her head. From the yard, behind Undyne, I could see Fuku and Lark, pausing their playtime to listen; surely everyone else was frozen after that insane display. The fish warrior waved her phone in the air, an elated grin splitting her face as she announced—

"I just pulled some strings with a friend up in the mountains. Let's see how many people we can cram in the van, because we're going on a vacation!"


	12. Chapter 10 - Snow Birds

**_Chapter 10- Snow Birds_**

Right from the start, the trip was fantastic, and it started as soon as we could pack. Looking back, I guess we were pretty reckless— but it was born from a feeling of glorious freedom.

For starters, the drive was probably illegal.

Asgore rode shotgun, clinging to the armrest with white-knuckles, obvious even beneath his fur, advising Undyne to respect the rules of the road as she careened down the highway, shouting all the way as if playing a video game. Toriel sat behind her, also bracing for imminent death, and tried to keep her lunch down while constantly making sure everyone else had enough of their own; I was ill of snack food by the end. The other secondary seat was for Alphys, who was likely the most comfortable of us all; she was enveloped by a fuzzy plush blanket and contentedly binging anime, oblivious to the impending peril. Actually, probably just trying not to fret about the inevitable.

Crammed across the back row, two to a seatbelt, was myself and Papyrus, Lark and Asriel, and Grillby and Fuku, coming to a grand total of ten people in a seven-seater, decade-and-a-half old van, with piles of suitcases bouncing around on the floor. It was marvelous fun.

Fuku sneezed at one point, rendering everyone suffocated from the smoke. From that point on, windows stayed down. Head out in the blasting wind, hoodie whipping around and the fringe of Papyrus's scarf occasionally slapping me in the face— I probably looked like a dog. But it was nearly as exhilarating as flying. So I didn't really care.

Following the signs up the winding roads of the Eidni mountain range, we finally made it to the ski resort. Humans scurried about like ants, bundled up like burritos, looking like colorful, chubby marshmallows toddling around in the snow. They kept their distance from our herd as we fumbled to get our jackets out and make a dash for the warm lobby.

Undyne was practically ambushed the moment we stepped through the door. Only once they were done with their bizarre, semi-violent handshake did I realize it was her friend. The monster appeared to be of bunny ancestry, perhaps a mix of something else, too. She was hyped to see her enthusiastic fish friend and the sizable group she'd brought. She shuttled us to the back of the resort, down a long hallway striped the colors of ginger-spice and mahogany, and brought us to a small door… that opened up to the largest add-on cabin I'd ever seen.

Heads swiveled when we stepped through, a crowd of more rabbits, dogs, and even a human came crowding to greet us. They excitedly took us on a tour of the ground level, which was lit by sunlight spilling through the back glass doors and warmed by a crackling fireplace chiseled into the center support pillar, beside the beanbag corner to the right. A few paces to the left, the cozy kitchen's window overlooked the patches of pine trees, a tiny slice of cliff-view in the distance. Further down the hall was a bathroom, stocked with fuzzy towels and extra thick blankets, and two bedrooms— one with an actual bed and the other filled with all sorts of snow gear. It felt like royalty.

After showing us the loft, which the children immediately claimed as their secret fort— a glint of copper flashed in the air as the first bunny tossed Undyne the key— the roomies snagged the last of their luggage… and our vacation officially began.

The rest of the day was spent in the great frozen terrain, testing out the array of snow gear. First, Alphys settled on a doughnut snow tube, shrieking as she and Fuku clung to each other and spun out of control down the face of the mountain, after which both stayed in the lobby with Grillby. Despite having lived in Snowdin, he was still, in fact, not a fan of snow. He was much more interested in dominating the card games, pool table, backgammon, foosball, and a notable other number of parlor activities until they kicked him out for being too good. He stood out in the frigid wind, hands on his hips and a light frown on his face, surveying the icy landscape in shorts and T-shirt while we romped around in the snow like frisky huskies.

Meanwhile, Papyrus had mastered the art of speed skiing; the key to speed is never stopping. Asriel decided to copy Lark, who was hitching a ride in my giant windbreaker hood. Soon he and my brother were snowballing down the path. Toriel, who was holding on to Asgore's hand and inching down the slope, saw them pass yet miraculously didn't notice that the giggling, screaming snowman whizzing past was in fact her son. Undyne rescued the two, spraying a snow avalanche as she whizzed through the trees, dashing across their path and slowing them. By the time the Dreemur parents reached the bottom of the slope, Asriel's fur was mostly ice free, and the two were ready to do it again.

Lark soon clambered out of her "nest" and went to retrieve Basil; he explored the snow drifts on the back porch, wrapped up in his tiny, colorfully knit sweater, sticking his rosy frost-brushed nose into the wind and snuffing proudly. Since Lark was having fun with the fuzzier monsters, Undyne, Paps and I were left to race. I traded out for the snowboard. Undyne's was similar, but wider like a shield. Papyrus's skis tapped eagerly.

Undyne gave Papyrus an inaudible challenge. Suddenly we were off. The two of them pulled ahead. Paps nearly overtook her. She cut in close, urging him to the side slightly, but then he did the same. They were neck in neck, taunting all the way— until they tumbled over each other. In a split second, they were a hazardous heap in my path. My instincts took over. I didn't slow. I gathered all my speed and did what might qualify as the _coolest _thing I've ever done; I aimed for a bump in the ice, shot off it, cleared the snow, and leapt over them. Undyne yelped in frustration, Papyrus laughing as I pulled off a spin— landed beautifully!— and then tripped and snowballed all the way to the bottom.

Once everyone was done freezing, the family shuffled back to the warm indoors. Hot coco was abundantly distributed. For dinner, we roasted hotdogs and apples with cinnamon in the fireplace. Afterwards, the popcorn came out and we curled up in the beanbag corner to watch a movie Alphys had found in the cabinets.

It was one of the best days I've ever had.

After the festivities were done, everyone headed for bed. The king and queen took the bedroom, blessedly out of range of excited night chatter. The girls claimed the loft and banned us guys from their territory, so Grillbz, Paps, Asriel and I ended up scattered across the floor near the fireplace.

It had been a full day. Another waited on the other side of the clock. But I wasn't ready for this one to end. The conversations eventually died. I waited a bit longer, still not sleepy. Grillby's flames dimmed to crimson. Asriel's soft snores turned into little goat bleats. I smiled. Carefully wriggling out of my sleeping bag, I sat up. Surprisingly, Papyrus did the same, perhaps even before I did. Timing couldn't be better. I crawled over.

"bro, hey," I breathed, "can't sleep either?"

"NOT YET," Paps admitted. "I DON'T WANT THIS DAY TO END." I wished he could see my grin in the dark as I tugged at his hand.

"well, it's not over yet, come on!"

"WHERE ARE WE GOING?" he whispered as I pulled him onwards, excited anticipation in his tone.

"to the lift," I answered.

"WHY?" he asked. I caught glimpse of his own grin as the moonlight hit us. Mine grew.

"so we can chase stars," I replied, carefully working the lock on the porch doors. I felt the bolt silently slide aside and quietly pushed the screen open a foot. "let's go!" Smiling wide, Papyrus snagged our jackets and slipped out after me. Together, we jumped the railing and escaped into the night.

The moon was a few days away from full, drenching the glittering snowy carpet in diamond dust. The branches sounded like wind chimes as a breeze slipped by. We raced the soft flakes drifting down, footprints trailing us, marking our path beyond the trees. We laughed some, exchanged challenges, ran faster. And the stars waited.

Papyrus dashed ahead and slapped the frosted iron support of the lift a few seconds before me, us both snickering and drooping to the ground to catch our breath. Soon, I stood, shaking off a thin layer of snow and preparing for another challenge.

"ok, ready to climb?" I panted, giving the service ladder-rung a test tug. Papyrus glanced between the steps and the top of the sleeping machine.

"NO, WAIT, I THINK I GOT THIS ONE." I also glanced up, judging the distance.

"seriously?" I asked, slightly incredulous. "no way."

"YES WAY!" Papyrus exclaimed. "TRY ME!" I chuckled, shrugging, and crouched.

"alright then."

I leapt as high as I could. Navy blue magic enveloped my body. Gravity turned, sending me shooting up. Higher, higher—! At the last second, I flipped, landing on my feet, standing on the underside of the top pole.

"no way!" I balked, nearly laughing as I sat and pulled myself right-side-up and the light dispersed. "that was epic!" I reached out and snagged Papyrus's hand as he nearly overshot, pulling him down to the ledge with me. "you're getting really good at gravity manipulation. i'm impressed." Paps grinned, swinging his legs over the ledge with me.

"THANK YOU, BROTHER! I GUESS YOU COULD SAY I'VE BEEN PRACTICING." I chuckled.

"heh. sure surprised me. i haven't found anything broken on the ceiling recently, so i had no idea," I teased. He smirked in reply.

We stared up at the sky. After gazing over the swaying treetops for a minute, I carefully got my feet under me, arms out to balance. Papyrus's eyes widened a bit as I unfurled my wings into the wind, stretching then shaking them out, initially cringing a bit.

"yeesh, it's been like, two days." Papyrus appeared excited, but a few seconds later, I gestured over the edge. "after you." Now he looked confused.

"WHAT?"

"like i said, we can chase the stars." Papyrus bounced up, much steadier on the rail than I.

"WAIT, REALLY?! BUT, I'M BIGGER THAN YOU. YOU'VE NEVER BEEN ABLE TO CARRY ME FOR LONG!"

"can now," I admitted. "well, i _think,_" I then joked. Papyrus's eyes got even bigger. "seriously though, try me. guess you could say… i've been practicing?"

There was a dumbfounded pause. Suddenly, Papyrus smiled like the sun, and with a bubbly whoop of delight, he fearlessly threw himself off the ledge. Feathers tucked in close, I dove, snapped my wings out, snatched him, and was halfway to heaven before he could blink.

Papyrus giggled and laughed, thrilled beyond expression. He couldn't seem to smile wide enough. I spun and twisted, climbing higher, higher, higher! I would fly till I could fly no more. Higher, past the few silver cloud wisps. The stars seemed to glow brighter, they were so close. Higher, past the snowfall pockets. We would touch them, surely! Higher! Until—

There wasn't enough air under my wings.

I flapped uselessly in the empty sky, our momentum rapidly running out. Then we fell. Sighing, deciding to settle for cloud-catcher, I twisted around to dive, shaking Pap's scarf out of my face as the treetops came into view.

"UH, SANS…?" Papyrus warned, not sure whether to be nervous. I smirked.

"snow's soft, right?" I joked.

"SANS!" Papyrus exclaimed.

"_chill_, _snow_ worries. just hold on _ice_ and tight."

"SANS," Papyrus exclaimed, pitch rising, "THIS IS NOT THE TIME FOR—!" He let out something between a laugh and a shriek, possibly covering his eyes as I burst through a layer of pine needles and plummeted towards the ground— I jerked up.

The frozen crystals churned up from the ground as we shot past, swirling behind us as I twisted and turned, dodging trunks and branches. Papyrus must have peeked from behind his fingers, for he let out a nervous, relieved laugh. He reached down, brushing a trail in the snow. I could feel his smile again. Now he was dragging both hands through the white, a slight giggle as it bubbled up around him.

Smiling myself, chuckling happily, I dispersed the flurries behind us as I suddenly turned skyward to aim for the stars once more.

Eventually, we ended back up on the lift. The bench swayed in the breeze, icy chains clinking softly. The flakes where thinner, now; even so, I had to brush away the powder layers from time to time. The stars glittered so brightly in the cold mountain sky. It was serene to point out and follow the lines of the different constellations and planets Gaster had taught us so much about; "star chasing," as he had always called it. We were both tired, and it was pretty late, but, neither of us really wanted to go back yet.

"SANS?" Papyrus asked.

"yeah?"

"I'M GLAD YOU'RE MY BROTHER," he announced. I turned from the sight of constellations to smile at him.

"me too, paps."

It was simple, but it was meaningful. Oddly, my mind drifted to other universes, ones less happy than mine. Underfell, GZTale, DustTale, AfterTale… those Sanses didn't get their happy ending with their brother. A shiver passed down my spine at the thought. Papyrus noticed this, and suddenly the ends of his scarf were tucked around me. He nodded his approval and went back to star chasing. I blinked, realizing I was the luckiest of them all. And yet I'd lost sight of that.

"hey, paps…" I murmured, "i'm really sorry." Papyrus shot me a confused glance.

"PARDON?" he asked. "SORRY ABOUT WHAT?"

"i've been so distracted," I admitted. "gone from home so much. the reason i went to the multiverse in the first place was for you. i just wanted you to be safe and happy. and i lost sight of that." Papyrus fiddled with the corner of his jacket.

"NO, REALLY, IT'S FINE! YOU'RE HELPING PEOPLE AND DOING REALLY IMPORTANT THINGS! IT'S LOTS OF FUN HAVING YOU HERE LATELY, I ADMIT, BUT I WANT…" I sat up a bit at his hesitation, shooting him an inquisitive glance. He shook his head. "NEVER MIND. DON'T WORRY ABOUT ME."

"i'm not gonna leave anytime soon. and when i do, it won't be for so long," I pointed out. "you're exponentially more amazing than any alternation i've ever met, and infinitely more important to me. and i can't do you any good out there in the alternate univ—"

"BUT I WANT TO BE JUST LIKE YOU!" Papyrus blurted. "I WANT TO BE A PROTECTOR! PLEASE DON'T STOP SAVING OTHERS JUST BECAUSE I'M NOT STRONG ENOUGH TO COME WITH YOU! THAT WOULD BE TRAGIC, AND ALL ON MY ACCOUNT!" I stared at him for a moment, unsure whether to chuckle, sigh, or even cry a little.

"you are too good for this world. literally the best," I assured him, tiredly wiggling back down a bit, the back of the seat blocking the wind. "but please, don't be just like me. be better. i don't wanna keep you from your full potential. you're amazing, papyrus, seriously. in the great big multiverse, i haven't found a single soul like you." I curled a bit lower into the warm orange fabric as I insisted— "i've always believed you were born to make a difference. you're stronger than you think." Papyrus was fidgety, but in an excited, bubbly way.

"SO… YOU THINK I MIGHT BE BRAVE ENOUGH TO BE A PROTECTOR SOME DAY?" he asked hopefully.

"i don't see why not. probably already are." He now seemed nervous.

"YOU DON'T… MIGHT… COULD I EVER BE GOOD ENOUGH? TO GO WITH YOU?"

"to the multiverse?" I clarified. He nodded. I sighed, gaze tracking the flight of an owl through the scattered moon-dusted clouds, surprisingly not surprised he was still stuck on the AUs, despite his harrowing experiences there. "someday, when the war is over— when it's safer… _maybe_," I surrendered. I hoped he wouldn't be set on this forever.

"TRULY?!" he exclaimed, sitting bolt upright, hands clasped together and a look of wonder in his eyes. "OH, HOW EXCITING! I PROMISE I'LL MAKE YOU PROUD, JUST YOU WAIT AND SEE!" He started squirming in anticipation. "MY GOODNESS, I MUST PRACTICE AND INCREASE MY STATS!"

"_someday, _paps, not today," I reminded, chuckling, eyes dimming slightly. "you've got plenty of time…"

"OKAY," he relented, contentedly settling back in his seat.

As my sight continued to dim, sleep beckoning my mind, I just made out Papyrus's elated whisper—

"I'LL MAKE HIM REALLY PROUD, JUST WAIT AND SEE!"

And I smiled.


	13. Chapter 11 - Icestorm

**_Chapter 11- Icestorm_**

My eyes snapped open. Silence.

Papyrus and I had made it back to the lodge, jumping awake as the lift whirred to life early the next morning; we'd dropped into a snowdrift and ran all the way home. Since then, two days of fun had passed. We'd be returning home in the morning. But my mental alarm clock wasn't going off yet. It wasn't dawn. It was the middle of the night. I blinked at the ceiling. I couldn't explain my alertness, or what had woken me, save for faint echoes of dread.

Slowly, I sat up, scanning the room. The shadow-shrouded heaps of blankets littering the floor steadily rose and fell. Everyone was asleep. But then I heard the wordless warning again, filtering through my mind and soaking in, weighing on my consciousness. _lark._

Silently, I wriggled from my sleeping bag. Smoldering red and ghostly silver lined the vague shapes of the room, barely setting my path aglow: Grillby's low crimson flames and the piercing moon outside, hazed in swirling white. I haphazardly crept over my sleeping companions and soon reached the edge of the first floor. Tipping my head back, I squinted through the dark. No movement from the loft. But something urged me to check.

Getting caught in the loft at night, though not unforgivable, would be unfortunate. I knew Undyne would throw me out— possibly literally, and it'd wake everybody up. _lark._ I gripped the closest rung and scaled the ladder.

Peaking over the edge of the floorboards, I checked to see that the females hadn't heard me come up. Alphys rolled over, deliriously murmuring something in Japanese— dreaming, evidently. Apart from that, no one stirred. Between Fuku and Lark's pastel nightlight, twinkling in the corner, I had enough visibility. Enough to see Lark wasn't in bed. Enough to see... something was beside her pillow. I feared I recognized the shape. Suddenly concerned, I silently strode over. Grabbed it. It was the protector pendant.

I teleported downstairs. Maybe she went to the bathroom, or to get some water, maybe even a midnight snack. But why take off the necklace? There was no sign of her. Teleporting from the kitchen nook to the hall, I nearly collided with Papyrus. He flinched in surprise, letting out a muffled yelp.

"S-SANS!" he exclaimed, trying to keep it down. "YOU... STARTLED ME."

"where have you been?" I whispered, still glancing around. Papyrus pocketed a white key— likely the room key— and shrugged.

"EXPLORING," he admitted. I nodded, trying to focus on what he was saying.

"ok, cool. hey, paps, have you seen lark?" Papyrus appeared confused.

"NO...?" he answered. "ISN'T SHE IN BED?" I shook my head.

"she's not. and, i found this," I added, holding up the protection pendant. Papyrus's eyes widened.

"BUT, WHY WOULD SHE...?" he whispered.

"i don't know. it doesn't make sense," I breathed. Hope in his face, Papyrus glanced up and down the hall, as if expecting Lark would stroll from one of the other rooms, or jump out and tickle-tackle him. No such luck.

"THIS ISN'T LIKE HER," Papyrus observed. "SHOULD WE WAKE THE OTHERS? COULD SHE HAVE SLEEPWALKED?" he asked. I considered this.

"no, don't wake anyone just yet. we might find her. anyway it'd just stress everyone out. and, i've never known her to sleepwalk…? but, well, if she did, where could she have gone?" Papyrus seemed at a loss.

The warning thrummed through my mind again. My soul tightened like my fists. Something was wrong. I went still for a moment, trying to think, to pinpoint this feeling of sinking urgency. I glanced down at the pendant in my hand. A sparkle glimmered on the silvery purple surface.

"paps, search the lodge," I suggested, my soul tugging; I dragged my eyes to the source of the light. Papyrus nodded.

"ALRIGHTY! WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO?" he then asked, following my gaze to the piercing moon.

"going out there," I breathed. Papyrus frowned, concerned.

"SANS, IT'S NOT SAFE! YOU COULD FREEZE! SURELY LARK IS SOMEWHERE INSIDE, WHERE IT'S WARM!"

"paps… i have to look. i have a sense... i wouldn't call it foresight _exactly_, but… it feels kinda similar." Papyrus appeared torn. "maybe i'm wrong. but i just have to check. i'll be back before sunrise at the latest, k? you have your phone, right?" I asked. He nodded, patting his pocket. "good. if you find her or something comes up, text me."

"THERE'S HARDLY ANY RECEPTION UP HERE!" Papyrus pointed out.

"don't worry 'bout it. i'll fly above the flurries occasionally to see if any messages come through." Papyrus slowly nodded.

"ALRIGHT THEN. PLEASE, BE CAREFUL, SANS."

"will do." I said, nodding, then assured— "see you soon. good luck, bro."

We hesitantly split ways. Papyrus snuck out the room door to scour the lodge while I silently snatched my coat, stepped into my boots, and slipped onto the back deck. I stood _frozen _on the snowy platform. The flakes were coming thicker and faster. I didn't know what direction to choose, or if I was on the right track at all. _"keep straight." _Glancing over my shoulder and ensuring no one had woken, I pulled the windbreaker on backwards, hurried to the rail, clambered up, and leapt into the air.

The moment my wings unfurled from between the zippers, I knew time was limited. The wind wailed around me in waves, a violent ocean of ice, sending rigid crystals lashing across my feathers. I struggled to make headway in the gale. I squinted through my fingers at the shifting white-grey expanse below, wishing I had Raven's flight goggles.

Before long, I took to higher, thinner altitudes, away from the vicious ice swirls. My phone screen illuminated the flurries, turning them an electric turquoise around me as I flipped the top open. Nothing. _"keep going." _Back into the storm. After about ten minutes, I tried again. Nothing. _"further. you've strayed left." _The third time I tried, my weary wings suddenly stuck. I pumped them frantically, struggling to gain altitude. With a final burst of strength, I managed to pull above the clouds.

Gasping to catch my breath, with shaking hands, I fumbled to get my phone from my pocket. Still, nothing. My soul sank. There was little doubt in my mind; I would be grounded once I left this pocket of serenity. If only—

\- BROTHER, ARE YOU THERE? ARE YOU OKAY?

My fingers trembled across the buttons, often missing and resorting to the backspace.

\- i'm ok. you? find her?

\- I'M FINE. NO LUCK YET. STILL LOOKING.

The whispers in my mind urged me to hurry and the wings at my back warned me not to push what little luck I had. I needed to get on solid ground, fast.

\- can't keep flying. walk for a while. going dark. keep looking. be back before ya know it. don't give up. love you bro.

Reluctantly, I flipped the phone closed, zipped it safely away, and dipped back into the roiling rivers of white. The ferocity of the winds caught me off guard. A gasp was torn from my throat. I couldn't see through the flurries. I flailed about, desperately trying to figure out which way was up or down as I was thrown mercilessly through the atmosphere.

Suddenly the top of a pine tree snapped against my side. Before I could angle away, another burst forward through the icy veil ahead of me. I wrapped myself in a shield... and dropped like a stone. With mere seconds to spare, I dissolved it and flung my wings painfully wide, just barely managing to slow my crash landing as I ended up face down in the slush.

Groaning, I rubbed the cold from my eyes. Down here on the green needle carpet, the air was a bit clearer. The thickest flakes were caught on the higher branches, leaving only tiny crystals swirling down. It was nearly serene. But all around the cluster of trees, the storm obscured the line between heaven and earth, leaving nothing but white.

I pushed myself upright, then swayed to my feet. Considering how stressed and physically exerted I was, my soul's thrumming was stunningly slower than it should be. I hadn't noticed it till now. I was grounded in a tiny pine grove, surrounded by a vicious storm, with visibility reduced to nothing. I was running out of time to find Lark. I had only until my soul turned into a popsicle, and then she would freeze—!

My stressed thoughts came to a sharp halt when I noticed a small dent in the snow beside me. It was a footprint. Looking ahead, I found another. And another. My gaze followed the staggered path to the roots of a tree. Hope burst in my soul. Stumbling over, I dropped to my knees, and brushing the snow away, I found…

"lark!" I exclaimed, hands darting to scoop her from the leaves and holding her close, overwhelmingly relieved. "oh goodness, kiddo! please, say something!" For a terrible moment, there was no response from the stiff, icy bundle. But then I felt her shiver.

"s…a…?" she breathed weakly, a tiny smile flickering across her face.

"good enough," I assured, scattering pine needles as I jumped unsteadily to my feet, cringing as my attention was returned to my frigid wings. I carefully pulled them in, shedding thin layers of ice at every twitch.

As I dug in my pockets for the protector pendant, I quickly evaluated Lark. All that kept her warm was her purple and yellow floral pajamas, snow socks, and surprisingly, her jacket. _how did she have the presence of mind to grab her jacket before sleepwalking away…? _I shook the thought aside, finding and slipping her necklace over her head. All I knew was I was glad she had it.

Carefully sliding her into the hood of my own windbreaker, I fumbled with the pockets and grabbed my phone. _please let there be reception here, _I prayed. The tiniest flicker filled the smallest signal bar. I could hardly believe it. I texted Papyrus— a long, slow progress bar flickered as it tried to send. I stuck it back in my pocket. I couldn't wait for it to transmit. We had to find shelter.

For a moment, the only sound was the white noise of the white flakes falling from the white atmosphere. I glanced around the little cove. Blinked narrowing eyes. How… how many footprints were there? My world slowed slightly, unsettled. Perhaps they were just my steps. But it seemed… there were more indents in the snow than I should have made. I didn't know what it meant. I just knew we had to get out of here.

As I turned a full circle, gaping all about, a tiny flicker of gold lit the corner of my eye. I squinted into the flurries. It was gone. Yet… _"go." _Tightening the drawstrings on the hood and hugging the child inside close, I cast one last, grateful glance at the tiny cove of pines, and stepped out in faith into the heart of the storm.

The fluffy white, dark night air was calmer, now, only scourged by an occasional gust— though "calm" might be an exaggeration. Another blast of frigid wind was coming; I could hear it being passed down from one icy tree to another. I curled closer around Lark as it hit, then was kicked to my knees as the full force slammed into me. I formed a wavering bubble around us, vision fuzzing slightly. At this point, my magic stamina was feeding straight from my cold soul's energy. My shins sunk back into the ocean of crystals as the shield flickered away. I stumbled up. Stubbornly pressed on. A few minutes later, it happened again. And again, I fought to my feet and forged towards safety.

Just as I began to tire, out of the murky distance, a dark shape emerged. I squinted through the icy storm. It was close. I couldn't make out what it was until my hand was knocking the icicles from the handle and tugging at the door. Slipping in, I groped around for a light switch. After accidentally knocking a mop broom clattering to the floor, and thus scaring myself half witless, I dug in my pocket for my phone and flicked on the flashlight.

It was a small laundry shack. A slightly musty aura hung in the air, peppered with the mixed scent of detergent and mothballs. The wooden walls were thankfully sealed to the bitter winds pounding at them, the frenetic flakes glaring in through the tiny window above the row of enormous washers and dryers. Below the rim of the roof, shelves lined around the structure, overstuffed and dripping linens and pillows. Following the cord of the single lightbulb, dangling from the ceiling, I frowned profusely at the switch. It was high. After straining on my tiptoes for a minute, I gathered my willpower and jumped; the glass bubble flickered to life.

I carefully pulled Lark from the windbreaker's hood. She wouldn't stop shivering. Her skin was nearly as white as my bones. I couldn't teleport blindly. Prying Lark's jacket off her, I tossed the frozen plaster into the nearest machine. But that left Lark with less cover. _think, think…! _I looked up at the stacks of folded blankets— far too high out of my reach. I wasn't yet strong enough to ping, and doing so could bring an entire shelf down. Glancing fervently about, my gaze landed on a fallen pile of pillowcases. _pillowcases!_

Amidst the sea of creamy silk, I doubted a few pillowcases would be missed. Grabbing a handful and aligning them one inside the other, I snatched a pair of scissors from the windowsill and chopped out some holes. Popping the misshapen cluster of sacks over Lark's head and guiding her little arms through the other holes, I nodded. Good enough.

Temporarily tucking her into the remaining shallow pile of laundry, I wriggled out of my own jacket and flicked it about, sending splashes of slush everywhere. My phone was suddenly jolted from the pocket, screen flipping open and lighting up as it hit the ground. Worried it might be damaged, I quickly scooped it up and saw—

[Message Sent.]

A smile of relief melted the remaining stress frozen on my face. It was all going to be okay. Paps knew I'd found Lark and would be back by morning. I quickly sent him another text, assuring him we'd found shelter, then, pulled the snow-free windbreaker back on, shaking off the last shivers.

Curling up beside the thrumming dryer machine, I picked Lark back up and held her close. She murmured something, the tiniest upward twitch of her mouth confirming the hope; she would be alright. I tested my magic once more; it was easier now that I was out of the deadly gale. I could hold out for a little while. Tugging the poofy jacket away from my soul, I did my best to wrap Lark up in the space. She snuggled into the edge of the turtleneck beneath— the pesky thing had a use after all— and continued to shiver into my shoulder.

Pulling as much heat magic as I could from my soul, I curled into a heap, carefully stretched out my numb wings, wrapped them around us, and formed a protection bubble. Such magic output would drain me, yes; I would fall asleep. But with her head resting on my collar bone, little fingers curling around the portal pendant cord, I could keep convincing myself she was safe. Nothing could hurt her, not without going through me. Despite everything, I chuckled once to myself. _"without going through me." wow, since when was i anything more than a wall of legos? _Yet, shifting the teal feathers and sensing the shimmering shield, I smiled. Yes, I was small; but I could protect her just fine.


	14. Chapter 12- PillowCasePoncho & AddOption

**_Chapter 12- Pillow Case Poncho/Add Option_**

There was no ground beneath my feet. There was no ceiling. Or roof. Or sky at all. No stars in the dead-black abyss above and below me. No walls. Only black nothingness.

Unalarmed, I floated a minute, no thinking, no movement. Eventually, I stretched my feathers, shaking the wings at my back slightly. They felt strangely tight. A weak golden glow spluttered from them, attempting to warm the darkness. It didn't. _i should be afraid of this place, _I thought. But I wasn't. I looked around, then went back to drifting. Fluttered my wings more. Glanced behind me. Nothing to see. But then, a soundless whisper prompted me to turn back again.

The soulless Sans. He was there. He simply stared at me. I stared back. There was a hint of intent in his face. He wanted to tell me something. He seemed to try. But there was nothing more than a sad sigh, as if he had forgotten how to speak.

I suddenly felt frantic. This was important. The dreamworld began to twist and writhe. Dark crimson fractures crawled up from the depths, crackling painfully loudly in my ears. Still he watched me. I opened my mouth to call out, to beg that he not leave, for him to wait so I could ask why. Suddenly it seemed my throat was filled with sand and soggy sawdust. Choking. The garbled words were drowned. It felt as though something yanked one of my wings as I tried to lunge for him. Horrors closed in. _what does he want? what does he want?! _My soul pounded frantically. It would burst—

Just as oblivion crashed, I wondered: _"avenge me."_

I gasped awake. All I could see was translucent teal. A leather-toed boot was nudging my wings, wrapped around me like a cocoon. I didn't unfurl them. _think fast. _All the human could see was a lump of fabric and strange blue matter, perhaps a little flickering gold. They didn't know what I was. I could make a break for it. Just as I prepared to teleport away, I remembered; Lark's windbreaker was still in the dryer. Muffling a sigh, I quickly pinged the human gold, becoming invisible— heard an amusing yelp of surprise— leapt up, threw open the metal lid, snagged the jacket, and dove through a shortcut. Doubtless, that janitor would have an unbelievable ghost story for the rest of forever.

Sleepy and disoriented, I failed to get my feet under me before tumbling into the snow. Away I went. I eventually managed to stop the spinning by flinging my wings out, flattening against the ice. It was only as I lay there, sprawled in the slush and gazing at the pre-dawn sky that I realized Lark wasn't tucked into my jacket anymore. I sat bolt upright, panicking—

A few yards uphill, an unruly mop of tawny cinnamon popped above a snowdrift. Rosy cheeks, pink nose, and a blank expression of exhaustion: Lark. She stood, patting away the flakes from her makeshift bundle, and, half grinning to herself, sorta giggled—

"i like my pillowcase poncho."

"_lark!" _I exclaimed, launching forward and swooping her up in a hug. "oh my goodness, kiddo! you're ok! you're alright— you had me so worried!" I held her at arm's length and tried to force my smile into something sterner. "what were you doing outside at night? that wasn't safe." Her confused expression prompted me to ask, "did you sleep walk or somethin'?"

Lark appeared completely bewildered as she groggily glanced around, the sight of the dark outdoors registering. She glanced back down at her apparel. She took in my concern. She glanced at the endless trees all around, outlined in an unearthly orange as sunrise approached.

"… don't understand…?" she murmured, eyes fighting to stay open. "am i awake yet?" I stared at her, blinking stupidly. _she doesn't remember a thing. and's still disoriented. _I decided to use this to my advantage and ease her mind.

"oh, no, you're sleeping," I assured, giving her a smile once more. Lark gave a drowsy giggle.

"i'm dreaming," she decided. "can we go play?" I tried to figure out how to answer. I had to get her back before the sun— and the family— decided to rise and shine.

"um… how about…" I glanced over my shoulder; I could see the ski lift. I knew how to get back to the lodge. "we can't play right now. you need to wake up soon so you can play for real," I insisted, popping the pillowcases over her head and replacing them with her windbreaker. "but let's make a game of it. it's a race; get back in bed before the sun comes up. and we can't wake the others, ok?"

"that's a funny game for a dream," Lark observed, yawning.

"dreams are weird," I reasoned. She nodded, head drooping a bit. Scanning the surroundings and deciding no one was about, I added— "and since it's a dream, you can fly."

"_you _can fly," she slurred, grinning.

"yep," I murmured, tightening my hold on her and leaping into the sky. "i can fly."

Upon returning home, I slipped in and tucked an unconscious Lark back in her sleeping bag. Papyrus was overwhelmingly relieved to see us both, and after giving him a quick explanation, we promptly hid in our own sleeping bags and pretended to be asleep. Of course, we didn't get a wink, but in the chaos of packing up the next morning, no one noticed our exhaustion, or took much notice of Lark's description of her outlandish dream.

What a night. Ultimately, the fiasco was the catalyst I needed. I could neither deny nor put it off any longer: I had to search for Lark's family.

Concentrating, I frowned at the screen, mind churning over what I saw. My eyes scanned across the lines, my hand scribbling Wingdings into a notebook; I couldn't risk anyone catching glance of a sentence, or even a couple words. I wasn't ready to share my findings. I wasn't ready to show the family tree I'd managed to pull together.

_the branches got a harsh pruning around… _Incredulous, I checked the dates again. _the time of the war between our races. _My frown deepened. _did they fight in it? are they against monsterkind? _ I shook my scowl away. I couldn't know that yet. _bloodlines beckett and crosby are long dead. but the fenn family persisted all the way up to lark's generation. _I tapped my pencil against the paper absentmindedly, then at the spot on the screen where there was a gap. _guessing that's where lark fits in, in the deleted spot. parent's deceased, knew that long ago. but no sign of… _ I traced the eraser a few lines over. _an aunt. "l.f.", whoever she is. _I blinked. _they have the same initials. lark's too young to fit in there… could that mean it's her mother's sister, perhaps—?_

I jumped and yelped at the soft _thump _of a book being dropped on the tabletop beside me. I quickly tapped a button on the keyboard, pulling up another window, as Lark climbed into the chair beside mine.

"hey, kiddo," I said, smiling, subtly flipping the notebook closed. "what's up?" She finally got herself situated, and picking up the book that had scared the life outta me, held it up for display.

"read?" she requested. Curious, I accepted the hardback from her.

"'anne of green gables'," I observed, then turned it over and glanced over the description. "why this one?" I asked.

Taking the book back from my hands, Lark inspected the cover, then pointed at it as proof. A redhead and a raven haired girl played barefoot together by a painted stream, a picnic basket and pile of books nearby. Looked happy.

"it's a big book, kiddo," I reminded her. "ready to tackle one this long?" She nodded. I grinned at her, closing the lid of the computer in exchange for the novel. "okeydokey." After giving the pages a quick flip-through, I opened it to the first chapter. "hey, lark, i have an idea: i'll read a paragraph, then i'll help you read one. how'sabout it? it'll really improve your reading skills." Lark considered this proposition, then slowly nodded, smiling wider. I grinned, too.

"great." With that, turning my attention down to the story before me, I began. "mrs. rachel lynn lived just where the avonlea main road dipped down into a little hollow fringed with alders and lady's ear drops and traversed by a brook…"

Of course, right from the start, there were many questions about the funny names of flowers, what a buggy looked like, where in the world Avonlea is located, and what strychnine was. None of these answers entertained Lark for more than a minute; she would get her reply and then promptly return to the story, eager to see how it would unfold— until we reached one new word in particular.

"what is this?" Lark asked, tapping the letters.

"try sounding it out," I encouraged.

"… a-do…p-ti-on…?" she attempted.

"adoption," I prompted.

"aah," Lark breathed, nodding to herself resolutely, then tipped her head at me. "what is 'add-option'?" It was hard to hide my chuckle, to not grin too wide. It was only one of the most precious things I'd heard, ever.

"it's… taking in a child who doesn't have a family and putting them in your family," I explained. Lark's ever present smile suddenly beamed, her golden eyes shining. Pointing at me and giggling excitedly, she exclaimed—

"i am add-option!" I couldn't help but laugh this time.

"the proper usage would actually be, 'i am adopted.'" Chuckling, I ruffled her hair. "and not quite, kiddo. not quite." She gave me a puzzled expression. "legal documents n' stuff's part of the process, lark," I explained. And I knew there was more than that standing between my family officially becoming Lark's. But she didn't understand the divides of our world yet, the social barriers that even her powerful soul could not break. Not yet. "come on," I diverted, "it's your paragraph; i wanna see what happens."

Before long, Asriel joined the book club. Lark excitedly described the plot so far, and though it wasn't exactly alluring to the prince, he decided to stay. Despite everything, he too was soon invested in the storyline and characters. Two kids meant twice as many questions, though. I didn't know all the answers. Instead of leaving them with a vague _"i don't know,"_ I snagged my notebook and jogged upstairs to grab a dictionary from my room.

Hiding my research under my matters, I turned to the bookshelf. Tugging the spine of the encyclopedia from between its neighbors, I started back towards the door, already searching for the new word, when a page suddenly slipped from beneath the cover. It streaked across the floorboards before I could even dream of snatching it. Setting the book aside, I followed the rogue sheet's escape path to Papyrus's bed. Ducking and pushing the edge of the blanket aside, I reached for the paper; it had found its way beneath the corner of a cardboard box, overflowing with colorful ribbons and fluff. Curious, I pulled the stash out.

Scraps and squares of bright, sky blue fabric were stacked, folded neatly in one corner; strips of sunny yellow were coiled beside. The beginnings of gloves and boot covers were tucked in the opposite side, adorned by neat stitches and patches. Poofy hood fluff and teal denim cut-offs were stuffed in the bottom, too. Paint, glue.

So, that's what he'd been up to; Papyrus was crafting again. It'd been a while since he displayed his fascinating creative skills. The most amusing find was three small boxes— half empty— of Sugar Baby candies. Pap's favorite. I chuckled to myself, pushing the bin back under the bed, wondering what masterpiece he'd come up with. Retrieving the dictionary and making for the stairs, I encountered Papyrus coming up them. I gave a sly grin.

"yo, bro, not cool, keeping secrets from me," I teased coolly. Papyrus appeared taken aback, perhaps not yet picking up on the joke.

"WHAT?" he asked, puzzled, slightly concerned.

"found the box under your bed," I admitted, shaking my head. "i know you stay up all hours of the night working on that costume." Papyrus seemed to be wondering if he was in trouble, but his nervous expression melted as I continued past him— back to the kids and a lovely afternoon— waving my hand over my shoulder and warned, "hiding candy is a capital offense around here. there's import tax. and relax, halloween isn't for a whole 'nother month!"

And Papyrus grinned.


	15. Chapter 13 - Freefall

**_Chapter 13- _****Dream's Brush with Despair (Freefall)**

The peaceful afternoon was shattered. It was like a stab in my soul.

I gave a horrified gasp. There was a _thud _as the novel fell from my shaking hands. "_hurry."_

"SANS? WHAT'S WRONG?" Papyrus asked concernedly. I sprang up from the couch, mind reeling.

"foresight," I breathed. "he's in danger…!" _fantasytale. go, now. _

"WHO?" I listened intently.

"dream!" I felt my soul speed. The sense of doom was so strong it was physical. Suddenly, laying low was the last thing on my mind. I didn't care it had only been a couple weeks since my deadly nap. It didn't matter. Because if I didn't hurry, someone was going to die. "i have to get to him!"

I was gone in a matter of seconds.

I raced to the Doodle Sphere, through a portal, through the crack in the world's shield. I dropped onto the dusty ground. I was in a forest, thick pine trees blocking out the sunlight. Ahead, a clearing, the edge of the cliff. It was the very top of Mt. Ebott.

I saw them immediately. Ink and Blueberry were locked in combat with Nightmare, fighting magnificently, backing him towards the open, into the light. Dream stood behind them, a glittering, gold magic storm swirling around him, batting Nightmare's attacks aside and aiding his friends in the fight.

We both heard it.

"It's your fault." Dream whirled. His gaze locking on something to my left. I spun and caught glimpse of Despair, yards away, calmly staring at Dream. "You left him alone."

Right before he teleported into the forest to haunt among the trees, Despair turned, looking past all the trunks and overgrown shrubs. His gaze landed right on me. And he smiled.

Dream's eye lights had gone out. He was trembling. The light storm around him fell to his feet like fading snowflakes. Magic static began to flicker before him— I leapt from cover, snagged him, and flash teleported away from Despair and the fight. Dream was struggling in my grasp. I had to hurry. I formed a bubble, shattered the portal pendant, and whisked him away to the Doodle Sphere. I didn't wait for our feet to land. Stumbling, I grabbed Dream by the front of his shirt and shook him frantically, blinding bursts of golden magic crackling from my hands, desperate to combat this darkness.

"wake up! none of it's true. fight it, dream!" I exclaimed. A few seconds later, his death grip on my wrists loosened. There was a heartbeat in time. Then he went limp. Started breathing again. And finally, his eye lights flickered back to life.

"S-Serif?" he whispered, tears welling. I pulled him into an embrace.

"it's over. you're ok. everyone's alright," I insisted. There was a muffled sob as he clung to me, still trembling uncontrollably.

"I'm sorry," he sobbed. "I'm so, so sorry… What have I done…? It was all my fault—!"

"it wasn't, dream. it was all a lie. it's not your fault." The tears started falling.

"I'm sorry…" he breathed.

"don't be," I insisted gently. "it's ok."

My gaze was fixed on the ground over his shoulder. It blurred as the past minute sank in. Even though he didn't have a physical soul, it was like I had pinged him gold. I saw and heard what he did. His past, his real past, in perfect clarity. Now, in light of the truth, I didn't exactly know what to think of him anymore. It was… super harsh. But my embrace tightened as I realized it didn't change a thing. I didn't care who he used to be. He was here, now. If anything, despite everything, my friend's mistakes made me love him more.

I wouldn't tell Dream I knew.

About a minute passed. Slowly, I sensed the tension seeping away, absorbed into the golden haze. I had made it in time. Despair had failed to take him. Dream was safe. But the peace wasn't to last. Without warning or explanation, my soul spiked again. Almost simultaneously, Dream gave a surprised cry.

"I have to go to them!" he exclaimed, shakily suddenly breaking away from the hug. "They're calling for help!" A swirling gateway opened a few feet away.

"dream, no," I ordered, grabbing his arm and pulling him back. "i'll go. you gonna be ok here?" After a second's hesitation, he nodded. "good. stay put." And with that, I dashed for the portal.

_"__one more is in danger."_

I was back on the cliff. The remaining Star Sanses were losing the fight. I watched as Blue was tossed aside, slamming into a tree trunk. Ink was thrown down. A shaft of black shot towards him… and ricocheted off the golden shield that formed before him. I sprang into battle.

"Serif?" Blue gasped, shocked.

"Where's Dream?!" Ink exclaimed.

"safe," I assured, racing towards the edge of a rock to jump into flight. "but despair, he's still here—!"

Suddenly, as my tennis shoes left the stone, a tearing pain exploded through my right wing. I yelped as I was slammed onto the hard ground, my breath knocked away. Nightmare yanked me face to face.

"How many times am I going to have to kill you before you stay out of this?!" he growled ferociously. "I'm sick of your interfering!"

The tentacle tightened around my wing, threatening to rip it off. Flailing frantically, I pulled both in before he could get a firm grip. But the moment they were tucked away, I felt the tar pin my left arm as it coiled tightly around my chest… _over my back_… and started hardening. I panicked. I snapped my wings back out. But the band didn't shatter.

My vision blurred. Ink's and Blue's calls were drowned out by my soul, thrumming loudly in my ears, echoing through my spinning head. My wings were crushed unnaturally tight against my body. It felt like they would burst. I tried to draw them back in. I couldn't. I tried to flash teleport, form a shield, summon attacks. Nothing. The tar had engaged a magical dead zone. I realized my mistake. My free hand pulled frantically at the tar, but in an instant, it was cinched down as well as Nightmare splattered me with more black, tangling me from head to toe with cords of roiling darkness.

"Stay dead this time, bird boy!" Nightmare snapped, yanked me up, and threw me.

It was like time slowed. Before I lost my field of vision over the cliff, I saw Ink dart. Calling for Dream to come help Blue, he swung his brush, knocking away the tentacle attempting to stop him, then threw it aside. He yanked his scarf over his head and ripped the jacket from around his waist, sprinted for the edge, and lunged for me. He reached out. His fingers brushed the bonds around my arm but failed to grab. We plunged into freefall.

Ink dove for me. He managed to latch on to my sleeve. Before I could blink, he'd snatched and crushed the red vial from his sash. A glowing dagger solidified in his fist. He slashed at the restraints. My mind flashed back to the last time someone had swung a knife at me and I flinched on instinct. The blade nicked a rib.

"Hold still!" Ink exclaimed, shouting over the wind. "I won't miss, I won't hurt you!"

A few precious seconds later, the cords broke. All that remained was the thick band. I hoped Ink's trembling hands could hit their mark and not me. He sliced at it. It didn't even dent. He slashed harder. Red sparks flew, but still, nothing. Panicking, he hooked his shoe into a stray bond, gripped the knife with both hands, and stabbed at the black with all his might.

"Break, break, come on!" Another attempt. A tiny dent. Nothing more. "Fly, you're gonna fly us outta here…!" Ink cried out, frantic. His fear grew as the altitude dropped. I'd never been scared of heights. But in that moment, I shared his fear. We were going to die.

Ink let out a strangled yelp as his foot nearly slipped free. I was so frozen. I couldn't reach out to grab him. He twisted, managing to tangle it again. It couldn't last for long. He took another desperate swing at the band. Suddenly, one of the impacts shifted something against my shoulder. My mind kicked. The portal pendant! I fumbled for it. It was wrapped up in my jacket.

We were running out of time. Ink's frantic efforts had cracked the band, but it wasn't fast enough. I yanked at the necklace chain. It was thoroughly trapped beneath a stray cord. I slammed my hand down on it. I missed. Again. I felt it fracture. _one more hit—!_

_Crack! _I gave a gasping cry as the band suddenly burst. My wings snapped free. Searing stars burned my vision. Pain rippled from my fried mind to my shoulders all the way to the tips of my feathers. I couldn't move.

"Fly!" Ink shouted desperately. "Come on!" I couldn't see straight. I flailed, trying to figure out which way was up. I couldn't remember how to flap, or breathe. _i can't do this. _Only one hope remained; the pendant.

The Artist's eye lights shrank, gazing over my shoulder. Time was up. In a blink, he slashed the knife at his sash, shattering the green vial, then let the wind rip the weapon from his grasp. As the bubble started forming around us— my fist came down one last time on the pendant and it broke— Ink hooked his leg behind me and managed to get between me and the ground. The teal paint burst up, blinding me, rapidly filling the bubble. Simultaneously, there was a blinding flash and—

We hit the ground.

There was an earsplitting blend of cracking sounds as the shield ruptured into a million pieces. The collision jolted the sense clean out of me. My wings were crushed with unspeakable momentum. For a few seconds, all I heard was ringing, all I saw were searing, dancing stars. I shook them away, flopping to my side and struggling to rub the teal from my sight. And I saw— _white. _We'd made it to the Doodle Sphere in time.

The moment the dead zone broke, healing magic exploded around me, focused towards the Artist. Was he okay?! Fearing I'd find a shattered rainbow mosaic, before I could even get turned around—

"H… heh." My attention snapped to Ink. His HP was visible, flashing, yet still in the green zone. His eyes opened. "Dunno which'as worse… fallin'… hitting the ground… or havin' you land on top of me…" I gaped at him as a mischievous grin twitched across his face.

"unbelievable," I murmured numbly, overjoyed he was alive enough to make jokes but too shaken to express it. Ink smirked, a small giggle-snort accompanying. Blue and Dream dropped into the Sphere. I quickly pulled my wings in, wincing. They saw us and darted over.

"Serif, Ink! You're okay!" Blueberry exclaimed, shaken and relieved.

"What happened?" Dream asked.

"Splat, basically," Ink wheezed, flinching— he had begun to try and sit up, but now flopped back down, huffing a resigned sigh.

"we fell," I answered simply, concerned for Ink once more. Yes, collisions in the Doodle Sphere didn't drain HP, but I knew from experience that crash-landing still hurt. Gold static began flickering around me, unsure how to help my friend.

"Blue?" Dream requested.

"Of course," Blueberry replied, surprisingly unalarmed. A bright, light blue magic lit over Ink, beginning to swirl around him and thicken. Just as I took a step to go help, Dream stopped me.

"Serif," he consoled, "Ink will be alright. Don't worry. And conserve your magic energy; Blue's got this." I glanced between the two of them, dismayed.

"how can you know? and, why? we gotta help!"

"I'm sure," he assured calmly. "And our magic is still _soul_-based. When it comes to physical healing, Blueberry ranks second only to Ink himself. We can help add magical energy once the field is complete— though honestly that will help Blue more than Ink."

I tore my gaze from Dream to the rippling cloud Blueberry was sustaining. In the midst of the frenetic storm of tiny, shining, ultra-blue stars, slept Ink. Thankfully, he had stopped stargazing, and was now curled up, cuddling his enormous paint brush and fidgeting in his sleep; despite everything, I nearly chuckled at the sight. He really did seem fine. _but, but after such a fall, how_…?

"Ink's fine, Serif," Dream promised. "Truly. It could have been much worse. It's you I'm worried about. I'm sensing a lot of stress. Tell me, what happened?" he insisted gently. _stress? _I thought numbly, almost chuckling morbidly. _nearly just died, my friend almost got brainwashed, other best friend coulda shattered, might never fly again... _

"i went over the edge," I murmured, not sure what good explaining would do. "nightmare'd wrapped me up pretty bad… trapped my wings. ink jumped after me. couldn't break free in time, i couldn't fly…" I shuddered to think what could have happened had I failed to break the pendant.

"Were you hurt?"

"me?" I balked. "no, i'm fine. mere scratches. don't feel a thing." Dream watched me steadily for a moment, concerned, seemingly unsure, mother hen complex still bubbling. But he didn't press me anymore. "what about you?" I asked anxiously. "are you ok? i was nearly too late, and then i left so soon after—"

"Don't worry about me now," Dream said quietly, a patient smile on his face. "I'll be alright. Please, Serif. Calm down; you've done enough." Seeing my lingering anxiety, Dream added— "Smile, Serif," he encouraged gently. "You did it. Everyone's alright."

To my surprise, I numbly sensed a tug at the corner of my mouth. Dream was… right. We had succeeded. He had lit up the dark catastrophe, like he always did, and somehow turned my fears into gratitude. The last of my stress melted away. And I did smile. Dream returned the expression, and agreed—

"Let's help Blue, yes?"

Thankfully, Ink had stopped twitching and instead blacked out fully. He'd wake up pretty sore, but at least he wouldn't feel a hundred-something drop's worth of _splat_. During the next hour, we poured ourselves into contributing magic energy to the glowing bubble. For the first half of it, we were all tiredly silent.

"why did nightmare and despair attack? what were you protecting?" I finally asked. Dream shook his head with a shrug.

"They called us out."

"what?"

"The Destroyers wanted to draw us out to fight," Blueberry enforced. "They make it seem like a world's in danger, corner us, and then begin the battle."

"really? what, they were just in the mood to beat you guys up? hold on, you said it like they've _been _doing this... have they?"

"Yeah," Blueberry admitted.

"why are they so intent on killing you?" I balked. "it's like it's suddenly personal."

"It's always been personal," Dream interjected.

"you know what i mean," I insisted, thinking it out as I said it. "we're… being specifically targeted one by one." I had both of my friend's attention, now. I slowly continued. "first, despair singled out ink and messed with his head, then cherry. nightmare tried to bump me off, but i think it was meant for one of you three. despair just targeted you, dream, setting nightmare up as a distraction…" I trailed off. _blue might be next. _Just then, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Blueberry shift, fidgety.

"It's so… weird," he muttered quietly. I shot him a confused look. "I can't understand it. It doesn't add up," he murmured.

"What are you talking about, Blue?" Dream asked.

"Despair got really mad at Nightmare for throwing you over the edge, Serif… Despair attacked him."

"He did _what?!_" Dream gasped.

"It doesn't add up," Blueberry repeated. "I can't make sense of any of it."

No one knew what to say after all this. I didn't dare speak. That was the final piece for me. The possibility that the others were convinced of what I had begun to fear was suffocating. Maybe it wasn't true. But I had no way of knowing.

Eventually, Blue's watch alarm went off; it was getting late in his world. He was reluctant to leave, but a distressed brother could be worse than a disgruntled Destroyer. He went home.

"Serif, thank you for saving me," Dream said eventually, a slight endearing chide in his voice, "but coming back to the Multiverse so soon was rather brash. That's twice now Nightmare has come horribly close to killing you." My friend paused to lightly frown and murmur— "I still can't figure out why, exactly…" He looked back to me. "Still. Please, do be more careful."

"dream…" I started hesitantly, realizing he hadn't worked it out, seen and heard what I had. "i'm not actually the target. he's after you. i just keep getting in the way." Dream blinked blankly at me.

"He… actively wants to kill me now…?" he breathed, perhaps somewhat surprised.

I couldn't quite read his true reaction to this news, for he went silent, staring down at his boots, thinking hard. I didn't know what to say. So I just waited. He seemed fine with this.

"You should go back to your world and rest, Serif," Dream eventually said, standing. "We've all had brushes with death today, and I know you didn't come out of everything unscathed like I did." I shook my head, eyes still latched to the glowing sphere; I had long since lost my sight. Colorful rimmed white spots danced in my vision, announcing my mind had stopped registering visuals.

"no, i can still help," I murmured, determined. "i'm fine! really, i didn't get hurt, either." Dream watched me in silence for a minute, lightly frowning. I tried not to move an inch, to go completely still; I had been for so long, so why was it suddenly so difficult not to squirm?

"I don't believe you. Wings," he sighed, stepping over and plopping down behind me. "Prove to me you're alright," Dream ordered simply, then reiterated— "Wings." I mentally scrambling to figure out how to get him off my case. He waited expectantly. I tried to hide the stress from my sigh.

"dream, honestly, i'm fine. they just got a little scratched up, nothing serious—" Dream suddenly poked his finger at my shoulder blades, right on the vertebra between them. I yelped. He raised his arm to deflect the wings away from his face as they suddenly snapped out. "what?" I balked. "how did you—?!"

"I had a hunch that might do it," Dream chuckled, satisfied that he'd outsmarted me. I sensed him frown slightly. "You haven't regenerated yet?" he asked. I remained silent, gaze locked on the ground in front of me, bracing for the inevitable lecture. "You used up all your magic stamina on saving me and healing Ink, didn't you?" he concluded, though it was more of a statement than a question. Another pause. Then Dream sighed; to my surprise, I heard no scolding in the sound. "Why are you so reckless, Serif?" he asked, carefully setting about the slow process of healing the battered, sliced wings. "I can't tell if you have a hero complex or a death-wish these days. What's changed?"

Eventually, I let out the breath I'd been holding. Considering everything that'd happened, I decided that, out of everyone, Dream would understand. I considered where to begin.

"back in my world," I started hesitantly, "before i came here, i was a loner. unusual, i know; sanses usually have lots of friends, from all over the underground. but, apart from grillbz, alph, and undyne… paps was my only friend. no one knew me. still don't know the _real _me, i guess," I acknowledged. "but, you guys are the first best friends i've ever had." I considered my next words, then shook my head. "i doubt ink ever even told you, but, when i first came to the sphere, he saved me from myself. consumed by helplessness and hopelessness, i… tried to shatter my own soul."

The falter in Dream's magic told me this was news to him. Doubtless, some puzzle pieces about my early days with them were falling into place for him. But his silence didn't feel harsh. He was still with me. Encouraged, I pressed on.

"i know a lot of people, dream. only a few know me. but only two know the real me and care regardless." I paused briefly to let that sink in. "i'd never known that kind of kindness, of blind love, until you and ink showed it to me..." I hesitated, then gave up my jabbering as Dream wrapped his arms around my shoulders— doing his best to hug me without cramping the wings in his way; close enough.

"Can't you accept you're worth it? We don't care because we're ignorant, but because we choose to," he insisted kindly. "Won't you take your value into account when gambling with your life? Why suddenly take it upon yourself to fix everything?"

"because it's my fault despair is here," I countered.

"How could it possibly be your fault? Don't blame yourself for everything."

"even his name," I breathed. "everything about him: he's _my_ _opposite_." There was a painful silence. "i guess it's been obvious, but no one wants to say it. he came into this fight to counterbalance _me_."

"No, not necessarily," Dream interjected. "And, Ink's questioned it, shared his opinion with me, but there's not enough proof of Despair's origin; Ink's not pursuing it anymore. At this point, it's not important. Blue would have come straight to you. He's attracted some opposites before, and he'd want to warn you." I sensed Dream shake his head. "I've suspected," he admitted, "but I'm not convinced. Many aspects of his powers don't match yours, Serif. He's more of a copycat, it seems."

"but he's a soul thief," I pointed out. "he's been stealing powers. that's why his abilities keep changing." I hesitated. I didn't want to tell Dream he spoke to me, stared right into my soul and got in my head yet never tried to mess with it. Like he _knew _me.

"If Despair was your opposite, he probably would have tried to kill you by now," Dream assured. "Yet he's only attacked us Star Sanses. Considering his name, I believe your power poses a threat to him. That doesn't mean he's you're opposite."

For a minute, I doubted, but then, realized there was a slim chance Dream might be right after all. Why hadn't Despair tried to kill me? And, he got in everyone's heads, apparently. Perhaps my power made me immune to the results. My mind kicked. I was immune to Despair?

"i can stop him…" I breathed, thoughts racing.

"Not today, you're not," Dream insisted calmly, standing. "I can't heal your wings adequately enough. You need rest." I bounced up, whirling to face him.

"dream, listen, i think i can—!"

"Go home on your own, or I'll have to tire myself by nap zapping your mind and then leave Ink to haul you back to your world." I blinked at my friend, not sure whether to feel threatened or amused.

"ok," I eventually relented. "thanks, dream. i'll be back tomorrow, though!" He shook his head and chuckled.

"I expected that."

"you sure you're ok?" I prompted. Dream nodded.

"Yes. Now, go; your brother is probably worried," he reminded.

I was unsure. I didn't want to leave until I had some sort of assurance he was really alright. It seemed Dream sensed this. He contentedly sat back beside Ink, gently patting his friend on the head; the sleeping Artist seemed to appreciate this.

"I am alright, Serif. I would ask your forgiveness for showing weakness, but you and I both know it's alright to cry." Dream gave a quiet laugh. "Ink's probably forgotten, and Blue's never known, but, I used to be quite a crybaby." I couldn't hold back the undignified snort of a chuckle.

"you? please. you're pure bravery." He turned his slight grin on me. I blinked. "you're serious." He gave an "mm-hmm" of affirmation.

"I once cried all the time. I handle things differently now. I merely lost my nerve. But Ink's alright, Blueberry is alright, and you're alright—so I'm alright. You needn't worry; tears or no tears. I'm okay now."

"…alright. you've convinced me," I admitted, smiling lightly at him. My fingers followed the necklace cord to the portal pendant as I started forming the shield— Dream suddenly stood.

"Actually, Serif, wait—"

I turned my attention back to him, inquisitive. He appeared a strange mixture of indecisive and determined, and his light smile had morphed into something more intent.

"If anything should ever happen to me…" he said thoughtfully, his gaze making its way back to Ink, "would you promise me you'd take care of Ink and Blueberry?" The pendant limply slipped from my hand. "Our abilities are similar," he reasoned, "and you're family, now, to all of us. Just tell me you'd be here for them. They love you devotedly. They'd be in good hands."

"dream," I said firmly, gaining his full, slightly surprised attention. "we're all gonna be ok," I insisted. "really. we're gonna make it through this war. we will." His expression softened slightly; he gave a light chuckle.

"Yes, of course," Dream assured. "I know, Serif," he agreed. "I do suppose it is rather silly." His face twisted in a touch of confusion and embarrassment. "I suppose I'm still a bit rattled—"

"no, of course, dream…" I interrupted. He blinked at me. I gave a quiet sigh, and assured— "of course i'd take care of them. it's not silly. i'd ask the same of you, actually… if anything were ever to happen to me, to take care of paps... i get where you're commin' from. they depend on us." A full, bright smile spread across Dream's face.

"Absolutely. Papyrus will never be alone, and neither will you. Thank you, Serif." He gave a sigh, saturated with peace. "We will all be alright."

Nodding and returning his smile, I cast one last glance between the snoozing Artist and my second dear, brave friend, formed a bubble around myself, and shattered the portal pendant.


	16. Chapter 14 - Memories and a Song

**_Chapter 14- Memories and a Song_**

I was dropping into the Doodle Sphere before my alarm rang the next morning. Within a second, I had already scanned the colorful horizons, searching for my friends. Blueberry wasn't there, or Dream. And what confused me most was the absence of the Artist. _surely he wouldn't be out protecting the universes so soon after such an injury, right? he smacked his head so hard, he shouldn't— wait, what if he's seriously hurt and that's why he's gone—?!_

I nearly drowned.

A cascading torrent of slick, blinding neon teal gushed over me, nearly sending me sprawling to the floor. Spluttering cyan specks and fighting to keep from slipping, I flicked my fingers free of the goop. It was only as I raised my hands to rub it from my eyes that I realized what it was, heard the hysterics above me, and blinking through the paint— saw Ink drop to the ground.

"Oh, oops… _not_ Dream." Another stifled laugh. "Hiya, Serif. What's wrong? You're looking a little _blue_—"

"_ink!' _I cried, hug tackling my friend, "you're ok!" Ink barely caught me and himself, spinning off balance as his shoes skated for a foot before coming to an unsteady stop. He firmly set me on solid ground.

"Smooth revenge," he observed, grinning, attempting to shake the second-hand paint from his clothes. I couldn't decide between smacking him or another hug.

"no," I corrected, "intense relief. ink, you could have _died!_" The Artist blinked blankly at me. My earnestness melted. I blinked back at him, nearly as confused. "um… _hello?" _I prompted.

"What?" Ink asked, oblivious. I fought to hide my frown. _doesn't he remember? did dream take his memories, or did he just smack his head really— _"Ah, you mean yesterday," Ink deduced. "No, yeah, I'm fine. Good thinking with the portal pendant, by the way." He suddenly snapped his fingers in the air, distracted and excited. "Oh! Actually, I'm especially super glad it's you and not Dream! He's been gone, like, for-eeever, but he ordered me not to leave cause' he says I shouldn't be left alone and some gibberish about re-percussions and con-cussions. Whatever, I'm bored, we should go places!"

"hold on, hold on," I insisted, holding my hand up to cut him off. "how does almost shattering have no effect on you? seriously, you could have—!"

"Nah, I couldn'ta died." I blinked at my friend, baffled. "Why do you think I'm scared of heights? Not the first time I've taken a tumble," he admitted casually. "I'm like a magnet; even if I break, I can't come apart. It takes a pretty deliberate attempt to shatter me," he concluded with a shrug. "Only complete destruction could actually kill me." My widening eyes spelt my morbid horror and skepticism. "Seriously, I feel fine!" Ink insisted, tapping his head, which sounded profoundly hollow, and insisted— "All the fall did was shake ideas around!" He drummed his finger to his chin, concentrating. "So we should go… oh, I don't know, just do stuff! Come on!" And he had snapped open a portal and dragged me through before I could protest.

The afternoon ended up wildly fun— in some chaotic, inexplicable way, mostly involving pranks, coloring, general sight-seeing, and a great deal of unnecessary running around. Blind universe hopping was always a wild adventure.

"heya, ink," I started, landing down from another portal into yet another world. "ya know, wouldn't it be great to—" My next words were muffled in his hand, clapped firmly over my mouth, the other flapping urgently for emphasis.

"_SHH!" _he shushed, gaze scanning for something around the edge of the giant oak in front of us. I managed to pry his death grip off my face.

"what's—"

"Listen," he breathed. I stood stone still, straining to hear what was so important. Then I heard it. My eyes widened.

"is that…?" I whispered, peeking around the tree, now, too, a smile tugging at my face.

"Dream," Ink affirmed, pointing.

Dream was there, perched on the side of a mountain stone, gazing out over the golden-amethyst horizon… singing. I'd never heard him sing before. It was astoundingly beautiful. I glanced at Ink. He was spellbound; seemed this was new to him, too. I tried my best to block out the chatter of the birds and the whisper of the wind and managed to pick out the faint melody as he began to add words.

_"…__days filled with joy and laughter, no more pain,_

_We're finally going home, come dance sorrow away—_

_It will be okay, now hear when I say,_

_You will never be alone; we're on our way home._

_As dawn breaks and the moon goes down— _

_It won't be long now._

_The morning will come and we'll see the sun._

_And it will all work out…"_

The verse trailed off and he returned to his lyricless humming.

It sounded so… happy. Yet, deep down, I suspected there was more behind the words. This was probably about his harrowing encounter the day before. It shook him up more than he had let on. _this must be where he disappears to whenever nightmare shows up,_ I realized, chewing on this new perspective. _guess this is how he deals with the chaos. _Slowly, quietly, I leaned back around the trunk and tugged at Ink's sleeve.

"we should probably let him be," I suggested.

"It's super pretty," he breathed, hardly seeming to hear me. "I gotta figure out how to trick him into doing this more often," the Artist murmured. I lightly swatted him.

"don't trick your friends, that's rude."

"You really think he'd sing if I was like, 'Hey, Dream, you should sing and stuff cause' it's really cool!'" he retorted, slightly sarcastic, slightly genuine, pondering anew if that might actually work. I considered this response; seemed Ink wasn't picking up on the same conclusions I was. Better just tell him off.

"mm, no, don't ask him. come on, let's go world hopping some more. oh, and probably don't tell dream we were here, either."

"Why not?" Ink asked, bewildered, opening a portal anyway. I smirked.

"well, you don't exactly want to admit to leaving the doodle sphere today, now do you…?"

"Good point," Ink promptly agreed, leaping through the rainbow swirl. I was about to follow. But, something stopped me. I turned back; Dream was singing again. The key had changed and the words' rhythm was different. A new touch in his tone told me, this was something special.

_"__I'll wait till you find your way home._

_Trace the constellations and follow their light._

_When the sun sets, and clouds block the moon…_

_If you can't take any more, take heart. Look up—_

_Because that's what stars are for."_

A smile tugged at my face. I let it out, turned to the swirling gateway, and jumped in after Ink.

When my tennis shoes dropped onto a slushy, pine-needle littered path in a new AU, I realized Ink had disappeared. I turned all around, wondering where he could have gone so fast. The dense, ancient spruces blocked my line of sight. I huffed. _leave him alone for ten seconds, and he's gone. great. _

"ink?" I called. "where'd you go?" I waited. There was only frozen silence.

Glancing down, I picked out scattered footprints in the churned snow; the star design in the tread patterns confirmed they were Ink's. It looked as though he was running, haphazardly, racing away. Concern spiked into my soul. Why would he flee?! I dashed, feet landing in the indents to follow his trail. Nothing but trees stretched on for as far as I could see. The faintest breeze whispered through the low branches, shaking powder layers of snow from the twigs all around me, filling the air; it looked like dust.

"ink, where are you?!" No reply. "ink!" My voice echoed back against the nearby stone wall of the cavern. No response other than that. Was he alright?! I dove from footprint to footprint, determined to find him—

The foliage suddenly broke. I tripped on a log in the path, taking a headlong dive into the slush. Shaking the slop away, I looked up; my eyes traced the rest of the footprints… and I found him. Scrambling up, I ran for the Artist. He stood frozen before the enormous Ruin doors. The dry, cold wind shook his scarf out. He didn't budge. He wasn't even _breathing_.

"_ink!_" I exclaimed, nearly to him. He didn't turn. Practically diving at him, I reached out and grabbed his shoulder, jerking him to face me. "what's going on?!" There was a long pause.

"I know this place," he breathed shakily, never tearing his gaze from the worn doors, not even for a second.

"what?"

"I remember it now," he whispered, eyes flashing frenetically through complex shapes. "Stale gray. Lost path, then the knock— a sound. No, voice. Had to keep looking…"

"are you sure you didn't hit your head too hard?" I questioned, still trying to figure out if something was wrong or if he was just being weird.

"This is the furthest back in time AU I remember," Ink said. "This… this is the last one I visited before I met Dream."

"so?" I prompted.

"It wouldn't be in any of my sketchbooks." I waited for him to explain how this was at all relevant to his recklessness. He noticed my expectant expression. "Serif," he clarified pronouncedly, shakily, "I can recall no clear memory before I met Dream. Only shabby half-facts. But this…" He dragged his attention back to the doors. "… I remember."

Alright, he had bolted because he got excited. Seemed something had clicked in his mind. But, so what? What was so important—?

"If I don't forget… if I can backtrack from here, there's a chance it could—" Ink gave a choked gasp. "Serif, this could lead back home, to my world! Home! This could be the start of the path to find Paps— this is it, finally! A breakthrough! This is it!"

The Artist suddenly dashed a few bounding steps away and began pacing frantic circles around me, chattering jubilantly to himself. I blinked at my friend, then at the doors. Maybe he hit his head just right. If he was remembering his past, it might eventually lead us back to the beginning! It was a long shot. But it was a good place to start. I finally shook the shock away.

"ink— hold still, will you?" I requested, grinning, snatching the edge of his scarf and managing to reel him back. "listen," I insisted, trying to keep the bright hope in check a little while longer. "are you absolutely sure you're remembering right?"

"Undeniably definite! Abso-posi-lutely!" I couldn't help but chuckle. What a word.

"ok, pretty sure that means 'yes.'"

"_Yes!_" I fought to keep the smile down.

"alright, then—"

"Please, please don't let me forget! I mustn't forget!" Ink begged anxiously.

"i won't," I assured. "though i honestly doubt you will. listen; you know this is a long shot, right?" He nodded vigorously, a nervous wreck stuck between crying or panicking or giggling with childish delight. "and you won't lose heart if it takes a really long time?"

"I have to try!" he exclaimed earnestly. "Look, you don't have to worry. I'll figure this out, one way or another. I have to! You can even go home if you want! I can find—"

"no, ink," I ordered. "do not do this alone."

"Why not?!" he blurted. _because i don't want you to face the answer alone, that's why. for better or worse, _I thought, fighting down a frown. _let me worry. let me worry about protecting you from an unhappy ending._

"because i promised you we'd see this through together," I insisted. "just don't let this eat you alive, alright?" He nodded numbly. I couldn't quell the excitement any longer. "we're gonna find him, ink," I breathed, nearly laughing in relief. "we're gonna get you home— we're gonna find your papyrus!"


	17. Chapter 15 - Family Matters

**_Chapter 15- Family Matters_**

_i wonder which i'll find first: ink's brother, lark's family, or the secret to world peace? _Dropping my pencil to the counter, I muffled a lightly frustrated, tired sigh in my hands. Peeking through my fingers, after a moment, I reluctantly picked my pencil up again and scratched through another line.

I'd made a list of names of any female between a reasonable age range and ethnicity with the initials "L.F." within my chosen radius, assuming Lark's mother had been close to her sister. It was an agonizing process, and produced a far longer list than I'd anticipated. I suspected the descendent had roots nearby, since Lark had found her way to Mt. Ebbot; the adoption home wasn't far from the mountain. They likely lived in the area. But that didn't account for the family moving elsewhere. Or the coincidence of the initials. Or the possibility Lark's family never put roots down in the area. Or that "L.F." was even in the age range I'd estimated— or a million other variables!

I could scarcely muffle the moan of frustration in my sleeves as I melted to the counter top. The TV droned on idly in the background. My coffee sat untouched, patiently steaming and waiting for me to _cool down. _I smothered down the feelings. _this is a perfectly pointless long shot. i'm working in the dark. _I glanced down my computer screen, poked a few keys, and aggressively scribbled my frustration across another name.

Lark looked up from her coloring book, concerned if I was okay. But before I could come up with reasoning behind my actions, the afternoon's peace was shattered at a _BANG _and—

"Hey, PAPYRUS!"

I jumped and gasped like a dying fish; Lark yelped.

"_undyne_, honestly," I breathed. "i think i just lost a year of my life." Lark giggled at this, and I grinned back.

Undyne, of course, did not hear this comment, considering she'd cleared the stairs in three bounds and raced up and down the hall. Within the minute, the sound of a thunderstorm charging down the stairwell announced her approach. I carefully closed the laptop, sliding the printed list between the screen and keyboard.

"Yo, SANS?!" she yelled, deafeningly loud. "You here?!" I didn't have to answer; she spotted me. Dashing, she came to a skiing-sliding stop on the kitchen tiles, planted her hands on the counter, leaned forward, and intensely inquired— "Where's Papyrus?"

"i don't know," I admitted. "he left about half an hour ago." The fish warrior let out a loud, rather dramatic groan and melted onto the countertop.

"UUUGGH, come on!" she moaned. "The _one day_ I get off early, everyone's busy! I wanna DO something, ya know?!" Lark couldn't contain her giggles. She patted the empty barstool beside her.

"come color," she offered, pushing a stack of construction paper over to the spot.

"just hang around awhile, he'll probably be back before long," I advised, grinning too. Sighing, Undyne hopped the counter and took a seat beside Lark. She eyed my closed laptop as it chimed; it had completed another search. A hint of curiosity flickered in her gaze. "haven't caught up with you for a while," I quickly asked, "what's had you so busy lately?" Then, noting the slight shadow beneath her eyes, added— "when was the last time you slept?" An irked huff affirmed my suspicions. Undyne snagged a deep crimson crayon from the counter and twirled it between her fingers while glaring down at an orange page.

"Sleep is for the weak!" she insisted, then viciously attacked the defenseless paper with violent scribbles. _Snap! _Frowning at the broken crayon, she dropped it aside and turned her expression on me. "Three days. At this rate, I'm gonna turn into a vegetable. Hah," she scoffed flatly, "even now, you can still tell?" I shrugged.

"i always tell 'ya; you're only weak when you _don't _sleep." She rolled her eyes at me.

"I doubt you even know what that means," she teased. I chuckled and slid the warm mug over to her.

"well, i can kinda relate," I admitted. She raised an eyebrow at me, downing the coffee in two mere gulps. I moved on before she could question this statement. "is it work?" The mug clicked against the granite as she set it down.

"Supervisor has me working a bunch of late shifts. Had a bunch of gang attacks a few miles away last week. Now we gotta do night patrol for a _month_." She reached for the coffee pot, filled her cup, and took a gulp; it was still black. "Weird dreams, too. Honestly, a little worried about…" she downed the rest of her bitter caffeine, "never mind," she murmured. "Oh, and of course, sparring with your brother." I blinked in surprise. She shook her head, inspecting the bottom of her mug. "Yeesh, he dropped the whole fighting thing for a while, but he's super pumped again!" She cast me a glance. "What on earth did you say to him?"

"me?" I asked, confused.

"Yeah. Think he's out to impress you or something." After a second of surprised silence, I couldn't help it; I sighed, burring both my cringe and amazed grin in my hand.

"wow, guess he's really serious." A chuckle. "i low-key challenged him," I explained. _well, "set a multiverse incentive" would be more accurate,_ I admitted to myself. Lark hopped down from her chair and scampered off to the back door, completed colorful drawing in hand, likely to go show Asriel.

"What, how? You challenge Papyrus to spar or something?" Undyne balked. I snorted.

"me? fight? honestly," I mused, pinging a second mug from the drying rack across the kitchen, "that's kinda funny."

"Come on, Sans," Undyne scolded, sending a little creamer packet zooming my way; I caught it. "Cut the crap; we both know you're a freaking _boss. _You and Paps could totally level."

"and you know i don't like to use those powers," I replied, shrugging. "haven't fought in forever." Focused on swirling my cup, I shook my head. "anyway, paps is an impossible opponent." I grinned. "we know each other too well to ever one-up in a competition; nothing's really a surprise move." My cup jumped and I yelped as Undyne suddenly slammed her fist on the counter and leapt up.

"Then fight _me_! I challenge you to a duel!" I gave her a sideways glance, expression somewhere between amused and skeptical.

"uh, no thanks." _i've had plenty lately. _"not really a fighter." Undyne appeared cynical.

"Uh-huh, sure, Sans. The world's a crazy place! You gotta fight!" I was saved from the argument by the back door screeching open.

"Undyne!" Asriel exclaimed, kicking his shoes flying as he dashed indoors. "I heard— I wanna…!" He paused to catch his breath, then exclaimed— "I wanna duel you! Teach me more!" _God bless asriel, _my mind murmured. Undyne gave me an irked glance; I shrugged. She then turned a widening grin on Asriel.

"Alright goat boy," she exclaimed enthusiastically, punching the air. "Challenge accepted!" Undyne picked up the couch like it was cardboard, clearing a space in the living room. She leapt over it. "Come on, you call that a battle stance?!" she challenged enthusiastically. "I wanna see the crazy in your eyes! The danger!" Asriel screwed up his face; the fuzzy child was too cute. "That's the spirit!" Undyne shrieked. "Fight!" And chaos ensued.

After a minute of watching the two romp around, I slid my laptop back open. Frustration sparked again as I saw the results of the search. Another name, crossed off. _i don't know what i'm doing, _I thought tiredly, absentmindedly staring at the TV. _i can't give up. that's not an option. i just want a push in the right direction…_

Just then, I blinked, beginning to pay attention to what I was looking at. "Heroes return home after serving overseas," the headline read. The reporters were discussing the details of the young treaty negotiator and his wife, returning to the states after years and years of service. The government operation had grown dangerous to the point of forcing the couple undercover. They were now happy to reclaim their identities and home. I balked at the screen. The estate— it was right around the corner. I passed it all the time, running errands. I'd never given it more than a brief thought.

I couldn't explain the interest. It was more than just, "oh cool, new neighbors, and they're on TV" kind of intrigue. It was random, right? But my eyes widened when the scene changed. There, the couple. The wife, Lucia Benson. Her face. For a split second, she resembled Lark. I couldn't quite lay a finger on the similarity. Maybe her nose? The slant of the curve of her cheeks down to her chin? I couldn't shake the déjà vu.

This had to be just a desperate, wild hope. My hands went back to the keyboard. After a few strokes and a few clicks— I found her. Lucia_ Fenn. _I was nearly trembling. No way. Surely lots of people had that last name. _is it possible?_ No, no, someone so high profile… _but she was overseas, in an anonymous position for safety. _ After all this time, just obscurely out of the blue? _i did ask._

Slowly, so slowly, I picked up my pencil, and with shaking hand, added her name to the list. Turning back to my computer, I raced through some research. Most of the archives were still locked. There'd be no answers online. I concluded this was worth digging into. I knew how impossible of a chance it was. But I had to check it out.

The house was on the other side of the grove of trees backing up to the playground. It wasn't far and we'd been there before. An idea came to me, confirmed by Lark's timing, coming back inside with a handful of dandelions. I grinned at her.

"hey lark," I greeted. "how you feel about going on a lakeside picnic?" Her face lit up.

"can we take bread for the birds?" she asked hopefully. I grinned wider, hoping up and filling a cup with water for her flowers.

"of course." Lark giggled gleefully, dashing around into the kitchen. Clambering up on the counter, she dug in the cabinet and pulled out a loaf of bread.

"azzie!" she exclaimed excitedly. No response from the tumbling, bleating/yelling heap rolling around on the floor. She tried again. Nothing. I gave Lark a sly smile.

"oh well," I said, getting louder as I spoke, "i guess those two are too busy to go on a _picnic_." The flailing tumble weed froze.

Turns out, they weren't too busy for a picnic. Within half an hour, we'd finished our sandwiches and oranges by the water and the kids had befriended enough ducks and geese to start an army. I carefully spent my attention between Undyne's conversation and on the building across the street. Movers were hard at work. I saw Mr. Benson a couple times. Sadly, Lucia stayed mostly inside, directing the process of restoring order. She couldn't stay indoors forever, though, surely.

"Ya know, being on the police force and all," Undyne suddenly started, "I see a _lot _of trouble, and if I didn't know better, I'd say you're casing that house." I nearly choked.

"hah, uh… what?" I chuckled. "me? a thief? really?" My fish friend smirked at me.

"Already said I know better." She looked back at the building. "What's so interesting about that place?" I shrugged casually.

"nothing really special. well, looks cool. i'm just tired. zoning out and staring, i guess?"

"Tired?" Undyne prompted. "What have you been up to?"

"side jobs, of sorts," I admitted. "just tryna to help where i'm needed."

I absentmindedly played with the faithful silver wing charm swinging from my hoodie zipper as I tossed the nearby songbirds some more breadcrumbs. A few more hopped even closer, one plucking a thyme-leaved bluet with its beak and tipping its head, watching me. It eyed Undyne, though, and didn't attempt to gift me with the tiny flower. It seemed they didn't fear my presence. Perhaps they could sense I was like them.

"a wood thrush," I observed to myself, grinning at a newcomer. "haven't seen one of those in a while." Undyne reconsidered my feathered fans.

"Birds are cool," she declared randomly, scaring a few of the close ones away. "You like 'em?" I gave her a lightly confused glance.

"um, yeah. love 'em," I affirmed, wondering why Undyne's mind was all over the place.

"It'd be kinda cool to be a bird," she mused. I couldn't hold back the snort.

"_be _a bird?" I questioned, chuckling.

"To fly!" Undyne exclaimed, scaring the rest of my feathered friends into the trees. I nodded a bit.

"uh-huh," I said simply, then received a semi-painful punch to the arm. "ow, hey—!"

"That's all you're gonna say, little nerd-bird-lover? You're no fun," Undyne complained.

"no, really, flying is an epic ability. birds are great."

The conversation had me oddly stressed out. Undyne seemed keen on me today— why, I couldn't fathom. The conversations hinted at my secrets. I didn't like it. Sure, she had seen my wings in the fight against Error. She knew I could fight. But that was before Blueberry helped reset my world one last time. She wouldn't remember. I was just paranoid. Undyne suddenly gave a resigned sigh, a rare, soft, sincere sound.

"_How _have you been lately?" she asked. I turned and looked at my friend. Her enthusiasm had been subdued into empathy. We hadn't really talked in forever.

"good, pretty good," I answered with a smile. I couldn't read the expression that flickered across Undyne's face, but was rescued by the cheerful chirp of my phone. I glanced at the new message. "paps is home," I said. "looks like you're gonna get your sparring match after all." She didn't seem quite as pumped as before.

"Great," she said. "Alright, cool. I'll go beat up your brother." My triggered expression was met with a teasing smirk.

"take it easy on him, would ya?" I sighed. She laughed heartily.

"You kidding me, Sans? Chances are he's gonna whoop _my _butt. I'm not going easy! Feel like giving me a hand?" she tried once more. I gave a casual grin and shook my head.

"you got this," I avoided. "against the two of you, i'd be dead in seconds." Undyne gave me an incredulous look. I shrugged. "maybe minutes. but hey—" I concluded with a smirk, "at least you actually enjoy getting your butt kicked." And she laughed.


	18. Chapter 16 - A Dangerous Mission

**_Chapter 16- A Dangerous Mission_**

I had rolled over so many times in the past fifteen minutes I was nearly dizzy. The entire house had been silent for three hours but something kept me awake. It wasn't that new little voice I'd heard a few times, yet, it wasn't _exactly _foresight either. Foresight or not, it was being vague. _ok, what? what do you want? _I thought tiredly. Nothing. I curled up back into the blankets and shut my eyes tightly. For a handful of seconds, the peace began to settle— then fled in a flurry of excitement like a spooked flock of birds. Slowly, I uncurled from the sheets and gave the ceiling a blank frown. _i should just get up._

It was rather disconcerting to find myself outside so suddenly. I couldn't remember if I walked or teleported. Considering I had my jacket and shoes, I must have walked, but yet, how did I go so far…? I found myself blinking at the Benson's estate from across the street. I stared, lightly alarmed and absolutely baffled as to why I'd ended up here. _this is where it wanted me?_ A soundless murmur of contentedness resonated in my mind. Frowning, I put my back to a tree and slid down. So, the search was still bothering me.Knees to chest, I put my chin in my arms and fell into the inevitable dilemma.

It was doubtful I'd ever be able to gain access to family records, and the Bensons wouldn't likely go digging at the request of a random monster. I'd secretly sent a DNA test on Lark before which had put me on the track of the family lines. But it wasn't sophisticated enough to find matches. I would have to find answers via elusive paper trials. _"dna." _My eyes slowly widened, fixated on the house. _no, that's absolutely ridiculous, _I argued. _you cheeky troublemaker, you can't get involved in my personal life, _I silently scolded the foresight, or the little voice, or my dumb subconscious— whatever it was! Death-wish indeed, Dream was right! My mind was reckless these days!

_no, don't you tell me. leave me alone, _I silently ordered, feeling positively dismayed as the details unfolded in my head anyway. After a moment of confounded, stupid numbness, I abruptly leapt up, turned towards home, and began walking. It felt like something physically held me back, as if my soul had been pinged. I fought harder. It held tighter; it actually hurt. Pausing, fuming, I wound my foot back, viciously launched a pebble halfway to heaven, and quietly hissed—

"will you cut that out?!" A temporary truce was established as I stood still and the invisible grip around my soul loosened. Flustered, I huffed a sigh and scowled. "ya know," I whispered, "'the foresight made me do it' won't exactly hold up in a court."

_"__turn out alright. promise." _I blinked in surprise. It talked to me.

"oh…?" I murmured.

A sense of time slipping away brushed my mind. Was I… running out of time to find Lark's relatives? How could that be? Could foresight weigh all possible outcomes and be confident that everything'd be fine, like it said? Then, _"trust." _I couldn't believe I was considering this. But there was no escaping. Either I'd have my soul crushed in a vice grip, or just live the rest of my life under the tree across the street. I sighed. _alright, fine. heaven help me, you better watch my back. _And with one shaky breath to calm my nerves, before the logic could blot out this scrap of faith, I teleported inside the Benson's house.

The cozy beauty of the house was lost on me. I summoned a glimmering aura of gold around me; if there were security cameras, and if I did mess up and give the Bensons a reason to check the footage, all anyone would see would be a smudge of light. I crept for the kitchen. There was always fur stuck in the drain at home. I had a feeling humans had the same predicament. They did, but the hair I found was black. Not amber. I blinked at it in confusion, then I realized, and my soul sank. This house had been lived in until a few days ago. A new set of suggested steps filtered over the original idea. The fact the foresight had not _foreseen _this detail and had to rethink the plan was concerning, to say the least. But this was for Lark.

Sucking in a quiet breath to calm my trembling nerves, I quietly crept towards the stairs. _"five." _Blindly following the mental map, I gave a light hop to avoid the fifth step, which apparently would have squeaked. The voice was still looking out for me. Good. _now where? _I wondered, glancing side to side, stressed senseless. "_right." _I turned right. Passing stacks of tape-clad cardboard boxes, I noted the closed doors lining the hallway— one suddenly whispered the slightest sigh as it slowly opened.

I was wound so tight I leapt like a cat— nearly yowled like one, too— and ducked behind some boxes. I was doomed. A human was coming out of that room and the cardboard towers wouldn't hide me. But no lights came on. No other sound invaded the quiet. I waited. Nothing. Slowly, shakily, I uncurled and peaked back around the corner. Silently grappling to grab my breath again, I narrowed my eyes. No movement. It just… opened on its own. Guess that was one way to get my attention.

I walked, nearly in a daze, and slipped past the ajar door. No moonlight lit this room. I risked a little more golden light. Squinting, blinking, I glanced around the darkness— and my gaze landed on what was right in front of me. Hairbrush. Right there. Numbly, scarcely believing, I reached forward, pulled a strand from the bristles, and gaped. It was amber. _this is it._ Searching further, I managed to locate a tissue box. Trembling from excitement, I snatched one and folded the tawny gold thread— the thread that held not only answers, but perhaps a solution…!— between the soft paper and carefully tucked it into my pocket.

This didn't feel real. This had to be some sort of outlandish dream. Dimming the light back down, I silently slipped back through the door, carefully turning the nob and pulling it closed again as softly as snow. All I had to do was get downstairs, away from potential bedrooms, and teleport to safety.

I didn't notice the slight movement. I heard a faint squeak on the stairwell. I looked up, already mid-step. The motion caught the eye of none other than Lucia, just reaching the top of the stairs. My doom didn't hit me until her water cup hit the floor, striking loudly in the silence. Our shocked gazes met. For a moment, time slowed. She blinked, surprised. I blinked, too, my eyes suddenly filling with tears. _no. _She didn't move. Light clicked on from the other side of the door between us. My nerve broke. A bright flash announced my panicked escape.

It was only as I fell from space back into my own bed, and felt the soft package in my pocket, and the pounding of my soul, that I realized.

This definitely wasn't a dream. It was real, and it was a nightmare. And I just ruined everything.


	19. Chapter 17 - An Unexpected Ally

**_Chapter 17- An Unexpected Ally_**

I'd been feeling on-edge before my failed mission. The rest of the night, I could barely breathe, let alone sleep or relax! Lucia had seen my face. She'd seen me in her house in the middle of the night, no invitation or evident reason. Surely it was only a matter of time before someone came for me. I wondered if I should run. I had just jeopardized my whole family because of some stupid voice. Was I crazy? My actions were so compulsive, almost like the script— code— whatever!— was trying to control me again! Could it be?! But, no, it had been abolished. That left the new voice and foresight as suspects, neither of which had ever interfered with my life so boldly. It played me and I trusted it. I didn't consider this an "everything turned out alright" scenario!

By the time the alarm clock went off, I had nearly stared a black hole into existence. Finally, the night was over. There was that consolation. But that meant I had to face the next 24 hours without getting confronted. Soon, Papyrus hopped down the stairs and sped off to breakfast. With my brother safely out of the room, I quietly melted out of bed and reached under the mattress. After slipping the fateful, priceless thread in its soft envelope into the cover of my notebook, I hid it again and stood. Taking and releasing a shaky sigh, I headed downstairs.

Everyone's cheerful attitudes and plans of a relaxing Saturday helped ease some of the tension I felt. I managed to hide my stress, to joke and smile. Breakfast was waffles with strawberries and orange juice. Lark's dandelions brightened the table beautifully. To my hidden stress, Lark and Asriel told about our lake picnic the previous day down by the lake. There was then talk of doing it again today. Miraculously, Toriel suggested the park instead. Asgore turned on the TV to check the weather. And my day went infinitely downhill from there.

Good news; my light mask had hidden me well enough, for there had, indeed, been security cameras in the Benson's estate. Bad news: _the footage was on TV. _And there was no good news to go with that.

I nearly choked on a strawberry, but forced it down by sheer power of will. Asgore, then Toriel, and then the kids and Papyrus all turned their attention to the bizarre report. Asgore questioned why a monster would ever break into anyone else's house, and Toriel replied with some vague response of equal confusion. I didn't quite catch the kids' responses. The panic nearly snuffed my eye lights out when the scene shifted to the end. _oh no._

"WOWIE, SANS!" Papyrus whispered to me, "THE MONSTER TELEPORTED! THAT'S SUPER COOL! HOW MANY MONSTERS CAN TELEPORT OTHER THAN YOU?" I could have passed out.

"dunno," I admitted. "looks like i've got a kindred spirit, huh?" I don't know how I managed to come up with such a casual lie and say it right to Papyrus's face after _not_ lying to him for so long. He took this answer without question, thankfully, nodding excitedly.

The worst of it sank in. Okay, yes, it appeared I couldn't be identified from the footage. No, Papyrus hadn't caught on. But you know who was bound to? Undyne. And she was going to _kill me_. Not even ten minutes later—

_Kick— BANG! _The door flew open and slammed the wall.

"WHAT'S UP, PUNKS?!"

_welp, _I deliriously thought distantly, _i'm dead._ She headed my way, fast. Perhaps it would be best to confess and beg for mercy. Right as I began genuinely considering this option, she darted past me… and launched into a hardcore handshake with Papyrus.

"My pal!" she exclaimed, pumped up. "Yo, guess what?"

"WHAT?!" Papyrus asked excitedly, absolutely riveted on the potential news. Undyne's enthusiasm bubbled over in the form of an energetic, maniacal laugh.

"I have the WHOLE day _off. _ We are gonna have CRAZY fun!_" _While Papyrus celebrated over this information, I nearly forgot how to breathe. She chose that moment to acknowledge my existence. "Sup, Sans?" she greeted enthusiastically.

"hi, undyne," I forced out, all but wheezing. Undyne had been my captain for years. If she wasn't on to me already, it was only a matter of time before she sensed my stress and was on me like a panther.

Hours felt like years. And in those hours I had to recall all my old ways from years ago, how to lie as easy as the truth. And I hated it so much. But I hated dying more, so, I kept on the brave face. Miraculously, it seemed Undyne really wasn't here for me. She and Papyrus hung together constantly, causing chaos in the kitchen or backyard. The only times she paid me mind was when I happened to unfortunately be in close proximity.

About four hours deep into the depths of numbing paranoia, Undyne casually mentioned the curious case of the break-in down the street. Everyone within earshot added their thoughts on the matter. She then turned and looked right at me. All I could come up with was a shrug and affirmation that it was bizarre. And… she let it drop. I couldn't believe it. The intense relief was unreal. Within a quarter hour, she bid her goodbyes to go run a few errands. Melting onto the couch, I counted my blessings… until my phone chirped. I glanced at the screen. And my list of blessings shrank dramatically.

Undyne:

\- Make some excuse and get out here. Either you walk out or I come back and drag you out on your face. We need to talk.

Within seconds, I had calculated my chances. I couldn't escape this confrontation. If I told her what had happened, I immediately put myself and Lark's future at risk. If I waited it out and played it cool, I _just _might be able to talk her out of her suspicions. _play it cool, _I decided. _don't give yourself away._ Hesitantly, with legs of Jell-O, I slowly stood.

Undyne was waiting for me, leaning against the side of the house, an unreadable expression on her face. I gave her a relaxed glance.

"hey, undyne," I started, "what's—?" She sprang forward, grabbed the back of my jacket, and hauled me away, straight across the road. _this is bad. _"what are you—?!"

I abandoned my question for a short shriek as she suddenly vaulted into the air with a leap fit for an Olympian, clearing the fence and ending up in the dense foliage beyond. Spluttering leaves, I caught my bearings just as she vaulted again, running and jumping, leaving a haphazard path into the forest. If I ended up dead, the evidence would never be found out here.

Through one last bush, she suddenly dropped me. Huffing about the ridiculous ride and trying to hide my panic, I stood and brushed myself, about to accuse her of insanity. I looked up. It wasn't foresight. It wasn't that new nice little voice. It was pure survival instinct. A blur. Coming at my face. Fast. I ducked. Undyne's fist bent the air above me.

"undyne—?!" I gasped.

"HOLY SMOKES! Sans!" Undyne exclaimed furiously, "That was _you, _WASN'T IT?" I leaned away from another punch. "My team was at that house ALL NIGHT! You are beyond lucky they didn't find anything! You'd be DEAD! And heaven knows why _Lucia Benson_ hasn't ratted you out yet! _She saw you, Sans!_" Before I could defend myself, I lost my voice as her boot swiped an ankle from beneath me; I was lucky that only the air and not the sense was knocked out of me when I hit the ground. "What have you done?! Don't lie to me!"

I hoped this was just an attempt to spook me into confessing. But in that millisecond spent on the ground, dazed and gazing up at her face as she pulled her arm back, I knew; the emotions on her face spelt determination. I rolled; the spear embedded itself nearly a foot deep into the ground beside me. I sensed another speeding my way; I leapt up and dove, just to face plant into a shimmering green dome. She had me trapped.

"undyne!?" I balked. "what?! stop—!" I summoned a bone attack just in time to meet her own projectile. Both splintered. "i haven't done anything wrong!"

"You've been hiding something!" Undyne exclaimed. "I knew it!" She whipped a side kick at my head. I blocked it; my forearm would surely be sore for days. "You used to be a terrible liar." I dodged a pattern of spears. "Granted, you've gotten good at it over the years," she admitted, dashing in for a punch. I sidestepped and shoved her; she regained her footing almost instantly. "But you still can't fool me." This time I leapt to miss her swipe. "You're up to something." She jumped back; more attacks materialized. I summoned a longer attack and swung it, knocking a volley of spears sideways.

"undyne, stop! you're crazy! this is ridiculous!" I exclaimed.

"For the life of me, I can't figure it out!" I abandoned the bone staff and resorted to flinging smaller, mirroring attacks to destroy or deflect her projectiles. "Whatever is going on, I just know—" A spear shard broke past my defense; it left a stinging scratch as it grazed right beside my eye. "I feel it in my soul…" Suddenly the air around me was tinted electric blue as spears aimed my way from every direction. "You've been LYING!"

It seemed time slowed. I couldn't block this volley. Not without my protection bubble. _"summon it."_ I stared at the glinting points now blasting towards me. _i can't. _ I dropped and curled up, arms wrapped uselessly over my head—

… Nothing happened.

Carefully, I peeked up. My soul flipped like a pancake; a razor-sharp point hovered less than an inch from my face. They all hovered like that; nothing touched me. Even as I gaped at the spears all around, they shimmered and powderized, blue particles dispersing up like the embers of a dying fire. Between the surprise fight and fright, I could barely catch my breath. Then I noticed Undyne. She stood a couple yards away, fists tightly clenched at her sides, trembling slightly. I spent her a bewildered, exasperated glance.

"why…?"

"Dang it, Sans," she murmured through gritted teeth, striding towards me. "Dang it…"

Frowning furiously, she held her hand out to help me up. Hesitantly, I reached to take it— she gripped my wrist, yanked me up, grabbed the front of my shirt, and delivered what might be the most savage smack I'd ever endured.

"will you cut that out?!" I exclaimed, mad now. "what is your problem—?!"

"_You're_ my problem!" She exclaimed fervently. "Your stats keep increasing yet you say you don't spar; you still hold your own but you don't _fight_ _back_ anymore. You told me you merely challenged Papyrus in the spirit of brotherly competition, but he's more eager, and— UGH, _determined!_—than he's ever been! He's an enigma! You're mysteriously absent a bunch and don't talk much about your vague 'odd jobs.'" She pointed intently in the direction of the Benson's house. "Yesterday you said there was nothing special about that building and then you go breaking into it in the middle of the night. You act weird on a regular basis. You're super preoccupied, dead-set on some secret goal—Papyrus is a whole 'nother can of worms, don't get me started!—and I'm getting crazy worried about my two favorite boneheads!"

Emptiness. That was my mind after such a rant. I didn't know where to start.

"um…"

"TELL ME THE TRUTH, SANS!" Undyne shouted furiously, shaking me.

"alright, fine! put me down!" She released me. "good gracious, please, cut me some slack…" The questions came about as fast as her attacks had.

"Why did you bring your stats so high?"

"i got things to live for nowadays," I replied quietly. "i keep my skills up, but i'd much rather exercise a peaceful approach to adversity than a display of power."

"And Papyrus? What's his deal?"

"i can't read his mind," I chided slightly. "i wish i understood why he's so determined to be brave and fight evil… even when his world is at peace." I was beginning to remember the truth was better than lies, even when hiding the a few facts.

"You're little 'side jobs'?"

"like i said yesterday, just trying to be of use where i'm needed." Undyne scoffed.

"Um, you have odd hours and you're not much of a handyman. And you're not artistic in the least; where are those paint stains coming from, huh?"

I blinked at her in shock for a moment, confused senseless, then realized she must have noticed my hoodie on the clothes line a couple times in the backyard, before I'd managed to scrub the marks all the way out. It was an unfortunate, unavoidable byproduct of fighting side by side with the Artist. I concealed my grin by aiming it at my shoes.

"occupational hazard," I murmured, chuckling softly. I met Undyne's gaze again. "i've been taking on… unprecedented situations that everyone else's given up on. i got my happy ending. our life is perfect. i just want everyone else to have one, too. i know it takes me away from home at odd times sometimes, but…" I fought to hide my sigh, speaking truth to myself, too, as I admitted— "even if i can't fix things, i have to try. maybe i can make it a little better." Undyne stared at me, shocked.

"You've never been anything of a Robin-Hood renegade," she murmured. "What put such a notion in your head?"

"papyrus," I replied. "i did it for him." I smiled lightly to myself. "i wanted to make his world a safer place. purpose of nearly everything i do is, in some way, about protecting him, and the rest of the people i love, i guess."

"Did busting into that house equate to helping, hmm?" I nodded. Undyne scoffed. "You're better have a fantastic reason for your actions if you wanna walk away. I could arrest you right now for breaking and entering, and perverting the course of justice. I can't imagine who would benefit from you getting—"

"it was for lark." That temporarily stopped Undyne's rant. "i didn't break in and i didn't take anything." I then added, "… of value." Undyne scoffed again, not yet sure what to make of this. "i teleported inside," I confessed, "didn't pick any locks or break anything. technically, not breaking and entering. just… just the entering part." I took a breath, latching on to a hope she would understand. "… i'm looking for larks family. i think i found them." Undyne gaped at me. Her eyes widened.

"Nothing of value… DNA test…?" she breathed, putting the pieces together. I nodded. She considered this. "Do you know yet?"

"haven't sent it," I admitted. "was gonna this morning, but… couldn't." I turned my gaze from my shoes to her, hoping to redeem myself. "i'm sorry, undyne. i know it was dumb. but if lark has a family, i have to find them. i found her bloodline. it lead me to the bensons, but they're too high profile, there's no way i'd ever—"

"You know, Sans, it hasn't completely sunk in." I gave her a confused glance, pausing my plea. "We're… _here,_" she breathed, spreading her arms at the treetops overhead. "We're free. First few weeks my arm was bruised purple from all the times I'd pinched myself. I wasn't expecting to live long enough to see the sky. But… there really was a purpose, for all the hard work and hoping."

I stared at Undyne, baffled. Her husky voice was softer than it usually was, vibrant with sincerity. Not only was her sudden diversion to happy words of gratitude profound, but her phrase, "there really was a purpose." I knew those words, _"there's a purpose for everything."_ This was important. She continued.

"You had a lot to do with our happy ending, didn't you, Sans?" I didn't react; I wasn't quite sure how to. She didn't mind. "You found Asriel. He was _gone, _for good. I don't know what you did to bring him back, but the look in Asgore's and Toriel's eyes when you brought him to them…" She paused, fishing for words. "We both know this isn't the perfect life for Lark. The Dreemurs have raised a human before! They don't think anything of it. But I know what it's like to grow up in a family, different from you— to grow up and wonder why." I slowly nodded.

"she deserves to be with her real family. and, yes," I quickly added, "she's happy with us. but this can't last forever. and i'm willing to sacrifice having lark all to myself if it means giving her the best shot at life." My face fell, acknowledging the possibility I'd barely admitted to myself. "everyone might resent me for this." My frown snapped to an expression of resolve. "but i want what's best for _her_." Undyne slowly nodded, a new glint of understanding and respect in her eyes.

"Gerson's always been good to me," she said, a light grin on her face. "He's the closest thing to a dad I've ever had! But I'd give my fins to find out what happened to the rest of my family!" I slowly nodded, also, murmuring my agreement. She regarded me anew. "You, Sans?" I shrugged.

"yeah. unconventional upbringing." I admitted. I'd already made my point, so choosing to avoid the subject of Gaster, I concluded— "i gotta give lark a better upbringing then i've had." Undyne shot a wide grin my way.

"Now you're thinking, numbskull!" she exclaimed, suddenly lightly swatting me again; I was so completely done with her.

"why would you—?!" I realized the scratch from the attack and the smart of the smack was gone. She'd healed me. I sighed. "thanks."

"You get me, Sans?" she asked, voice even once more. "I'm on your side. Tell me first thing when you get those DNA results. You find Lark's family and don't screw things up, or I'll hit you for real next time!" She regarded me anew. "You can talk to me, you know." I tipped my head at her. "We both work to protect Papyrus's innocence. You bear both yall's burdens and a bunch of others, alone, and don't try denying you're a worrier!" I had, in fact, opened my mouth to argue, but shut it again. "There's not a thing you could say that would shock me, HAH! I've fought hell on earth! But you don't have to, anymore." She gave me her quirky smile. "You got me, Sans!"

"thank you, undyne," I breathed lamely, not sure how to put into words the gratitude and relief I felt. She must have read it on my face, though, because she threw her head back and cackled heartily.

"You're adorable, I have you all choked up!" I frowned profusely at her. _that's twice someone's called me adorable lately. _ Yes, I was small and empathetic, but I must be losing my edge.I wasn't the type to hold a grudge. But I would remember _that. _

"'adorable,' my foot," I grumbled. "call me cute and i'll fight you for real." She laughed more at me, then shook her head.

"Whatever, ya little runt. You're salty cause it's true." I decided I might need to frown more often. She held her hand out. "I promise not to drag you home this time." I sighed, chuckling despite myself.

"fine." I smiled, accepting the gesture. "thanks, undyne."

_"__this will change the outcome."_


	20. Chapter 18 - A Peaceful Intervention

**_Chapter 18- A Peaceful Intervention_**

Slowly, blinking, I raised my head; the sketchbook I was studying lost its intrigue.

"hey, guys…" I called, though it ended up being more of a distracted murmur, "think i'm gettin' something…" My three friends looked up from their respective projects and plans. Ink gave an undignified _snrk_ of a scoff.

"Uh-oh, Serif's hearing voices again." A giggle-snort. "That'll never get old."

"hush," I scolded, "trying to listen here."

"Is it friendly advisor number one or number two?" Blue asked in a whisper, trying to be courteous.

"two," I muttered. Dream stood.

"Alright, that means something is happening now." He opened a blank portal. "Destination?" he asked. The voice finished its explanation and I nodded.

"soultale," I replied. "error and dust are there. one might leave soon, though; seems they're not getting along. they're by the exit cave from the underground, heading east."

"Fantastic, Serif!" Blueberry praised, amazed with the new ability.

"A little O.P.," Ink teasingly complained, "but not bad." Dream re-routed the portal and we dove through.

The "Voice Number 2" was undeniably familiar yet irritatingly unplaceable. It was actually like silent thoughts rather than spoken sound. Still, they were discernable words rather than feelings. Unlike the future glimpses foresight revealed, this new voice had perfect perception of the present and could describe a detailed, current event to me from across the Multiverse. It had developed over the past few weeks, oddly strong and clear right from the start. The others were impressed. Truthfully, though, it didn't feel innate like the foresight did. It must be an extension of the original skill, I supposed. Perhaps I was simply still getting used to it.

We landed in SoulTale, striking out for East before the Destroyers could make it to civilization. It was interesting, for sure, that Dust and Error were teamed up. Times must be desperate; they always got in each other's way. Hopefully, that would make it easy to break them up and send them scattering. And, another interesting development: around the same time the second voice manifested itself, fights began getting easier. The enemy seemed to be inexplicably losing some of their power. No one could figure exactly how, but it was starting to level the playing field. We didn't question it.

We heard them before we saw them. There, a few yards ahead of us were Error and Dust, arguing angrily. We didn't wait for them to settle their differences. Just as they sensed our presence and whirled, Blueberry pulled up a wall of bones beyond them, sealing a barrier to stop any attempt at escape.

Dust's annoyed exclamation was drowned in the concussive _boom _as Error fired two Gaster Blasters our way. Blue and Ink dove and rolled in opposite directions. Dream and I ducked and dashed forward. Dust launched a volley of needle-sharp bone attacks towards the two of us. I formed a half-shield; the projectiles ricocheted aside. The torrent stopped. Dust barely managed to teleport away in time as I ducked and Dream leapt over me, kicking off the top of my shield and diving towards him. Landing in a roll and bounding up, Dream pinged and pulled me away as our opponent dropped above me, dagger drawn and swinging down.

Unfortunately for Dust, Error's efforts had shifted to follow Blueberry and the Artist, who had cleverly orchestrated their path to put Dust in the crosshairs. Dust knocked Error's attacks off-course as they nearly hit him. Both yelled at each other for being underfoot. In the meantime, Ink broke through the initial wall of attacks and charged Error. Dream flanked him, taking turns hurling attacks, defending, and dropping back to regroup.

Dust was hard-pressed as Blueberry joined me in my attempt to corner him. A complex, shifting field of bones sent him scrambling, my blasters forcing him to stay low, slowing him considerably. He shouted for Error to do something, but his companion was about as tied up as he was, doing all he could to keep from taking any hits. To our jubilant, triumphant excitement, Error snarled a veiled threat, formed a portal, and escaped through it. One down.

Just as Blueberry changed the bones from white to blue, Dust managed to teleport from the range of attacks. Realizing he had been abandoned, he summoned a full wall of Gaster Blasters in a last-resort attempt to get rid of us. Ink shattered his green paint vial, and with Dream's help, hid the two of them behind a gold-green wall. Blueberry held on tight as I grabbed him and shot straight up at the last second. The red-tinted purple blasters fired.

Soaring to evade the beams, I twisted so Blue could have a clear shot at Dust. Focusing hard, Blueberry summoned a massive, swirling blaster of his own, aimed it with shocking accuracy despite the speeding flight, and fired. Dust was swallowed from sight beneath a blinding blast of bluish-white light. The crimson-purple beams faltered. A tense moment. Then, far below, the blasters disappeared as Dust dove from the beam and rolled into a portal. He was gone.

Returning to the ground and setting Blue on his feet, I jogged with him to meet Ink and Dream, who were just dissolving the protection shield and grinning at each other. We'd won. We'd won another battle. It'd been so long since we'd managed to triumph without suffering our share of losses. High-fives were exchanged, all were smiling.

The voice beat the warning. Mere milliseconds before a crushing sense of panic filled my soul, the mental whispers suddenly became a clear _voice_. So much hit my mind at once— the foresight, the dread, the words, the _actual voice— _I whirled— I was too overwhelmed and stunned to react. The warning—

_"__ERROR'S BACK— BLUEBERRY!"_

It was as in slow motion. There was nothing I could do. From the darkness of the nearby grove, a spreading barrage of primary blue cords blasted towards Blueberry. He hadn't seen them yet. I was a few too many steps away to dive for him. Dream noticed. His face contorted in horror. Before he could reach out, Blue turned, saw his doom— he gave a yelping squeal as he shot straight up.

The strings missed him, the rest of us hitting the ground to avoid getting snatched. Peaking up from under my arms, I gaped at Blueberry, hovering about eight yards off the ground, covered in a light, navy haze. He appeared as baffled as we were. Just as my mind began to try and inform me the identity of the voice, Error struck again.

Leaping from the cover of the trees, he sent a volley of sharp bone shards at Ink, Dream, and me, and another beam of threads at Blue. My hastily summoned shield cracked; Ink's paint quickly took its place. Dream protected us from the attacks coming from behind. Blueberry dropped right as the strings reached him, shrieking all the way. Fractures snapped across Ink's paint barrier. My golden bubble formed in front of it just as the green shattered.

A new burst of cords suddenly shot towards the opposite grove of trees, driving a sky-blue and yellow clad figure to break from cover. The flickering navy that had begun to catch Blueberry snuffed out. He fell again. The mystery person was unreasonably fast; each bounding step shoot them forward much further than should be possible as they raced towards Blueberry. My shield was cracking. Mere seconds remained before Blue met a pancake-landing. Error formed a net of cords to capture his prize—

The figure dove, half-phasing, half-flying the rest of the distance, and snatched Blueberry away just as the strings snapped closed. Rolling, the figure took another bounding leap. Skidding to a stop between us and the next volley of attacks, they hastily shifted Blue to a piggyback ride; two tiny semi-physical magical yellow wings wrapped around him. The person flung both hands forward. A thin, rippling, electric-cyan and sunrise-yellow wall of light rippled between the five of us and Error's hail of attacks. My eye lights shrank as two realizations pounded me. I knew who it was. And I knew there was no avoiding this torrential volley. The wall was far too weak! The spikes fell. My soul seized up. I couldn't cry out. They would both be killed!—

The black bone shards passed clean through the thin, flimsy field… and turned green. Green healing attacks rained down on us, restoring everyone's slightly damaged HP. Ink's gasp told me this was a completely new ability. I'd never seen anything like it. Error growled and fired a beam of rigid strings. Blueberry shrieked and buried his face into the back of the cloud-fluff hood. The cords bent, unnaturally curving away, shooting in every direction _but _their target.

Blueberry was slipped carefully to ground, sent scampering towards us, yanked behind our shield. But Papyrus—_my Papyrus— _took a step towards Error.

"YOU DON'T HAVE TO ATTACK ANYMORE," he assured kindly. "I WON'T HURT YOU."

Ink, Dream, and Blueberry whirled to gape at me, recognizing the voice as my brother's. I couldn't find my own. I couldn't react. I was trembling, choked with panic and drowning in horror. I was terrified stiff. My worst nightmare was playing out before my eyes. Papyrus was engaging_ Error. _Error, however, faltered, staring with a touch of fear and confusion at my brother. He took a step back as Papyrus took another one forward.

"EVERYONE HAS BEEN FIGHTING FOR A LONG TIME. BUT WE DON'T HAVE TO." He took another careful step. "WE CAN ALL SETTLE THIS PEACEFULLY." Error hesitated, considering Papyrus's words. But then something snapped inside the Destroyer.

"No, I'lL… I'LL kILL yOu!"

An enormous barrage of attacks blast forward. A strangled cry broke free from my throat as I helplessly watched my brother be suddenly swallowed from sight amidst blaster beams and razor sharp bone shards, shrouded by a violent cloud of dust, clods of dirt, and stones thrown high. He had mere seconds in such a torrent…! My world churned. Dream grabbed and held me back as I made a weak attempt to dive for him while Ink reached out with his magic to ping Papyrus. But he couldn't seem to get ahold of Paps to pull him free. My friend's panicked exclamations were drowned in my thrumming mind. He was… gone. Time was up. There was no sign of life in the path of destruction. There was _no_ _way_ he could survive this long.

The dust and ash cleared. I nearly did black out, then. I had to be dreaming. The ground was ruined, marred brutally. But Papyrus stood, safe and sound, on a small circle of untouched earth, a light blue dusting sprinkled down around his similarly colored boots and fell away.

"JUST BECAUSE WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN ENEMIES DOESN'T MEAN IT HAS TO BE THAT WAY," Papyrus reasoned, not phased in the least, as if nothing had happened, taking an impressive leap to clear the massive moat surrounding him. He was so close to Error now. "IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE THIS WAY." Another step. "WE COULD ALL GET ALONG IF WE TRIED, I'M SURE OF IT." Closer still. "AREN'T YOU TIRED OF FIGHTING?"

One more pace. He held out his hand. Error appeared positively shaken. He blasted another, weaker volley. My eyes widened as, this time, I saw the attacks turn blue and phase harmlessly through Papyrus as he held perfectly still. They passed. I sensed Papyrus smile.

"WILL YOU BE FRIENDS WITH US, NOW?"

Error was deeply distressed, confused witless. He seemed to be truly considering Papyrus's offer. His gaze was dead-locked on the outstretched hand, offering him a better life. For a moment in time, I would have sworn he was going to take it. Then, a blast of glitching and static shuddered through Error, he shook his head, disoriented, and… fled through a portal.

Finally, Ink let the shields drop. Finally, Papyrus turned and looked at us. He gave a wide, beaming smile. If Dream didn't still have a grip on my arm, I might have collapsed. Finally, all his mysterious behavior made sense. Papyrus was not only _running around_ _the Multiverse risking his life, _but now I realized he _had_ been for a _long _time.

He'd been protecting the Multiverse _since the first day came._


	21. Chapter 19 - Second Chances

**_Chapter 19- Second Chances_**

Dragging Papyrus along with me, back home, I teleported us into our room, shut the door, whirled on him, and hissed—

"what on _earth _were you _thinking_?!"

"I WAS THINKING I'D DO WHAT I COULD TO DO THE RIGHT THING," Paps defended. I listened carefully for a minute. Only Asgore and Asriel were home, and they were in the backyard, it sounded. _Good_.

"i'm trying to protect you and you are determined to ruin my efforts!" I scolded. "you're gonna get yourself killed!" My brother frowned— a rare sight— and crossed his arms.

"I SAVED YOU GUYS. I THINK I HANDLED THAT SITUATION JUST FINE. I'M ALRIGHT. EVERYTHING IS FINE." My fists tightened, not sure how to handle my predicament; my pillow was too far to absorb my frustration, so I just stood trembling, inwardly freaking out.

"running around in the multiverse? against my will? in secret?! risking your life without anyone to protect you?! how is _that_ alright?!"

"I'M OLD ENOUGH TO CARE FOR MYSELF, SANS," Papyrus argued matter-of-factly. "AND I KNEW YOU'D BE AGAINST IT. I WAS WAITING FOR A BETTER TIME TO TELL YOU."

"'better time'? _better time?! _when exactly would that be?!" The sheepish, half-grin I received had a touch of hope in it.

"… WHEN YOU WOULDN'T GET MAD…?"

At this, the anger melted out of my soul. I wasn't exactly mad at Paps… was I? I considered my reaction. Okay, maybe a little, but I was mostly overwhelmed, shaken— actually I had questions.

"how long?" I asked, a bit softer this time. Papyrus fidgeted.

"NOT LONG AFTER… DREAM AND BLUEBERRY BROUGHT ME TO THE DOODLE SPHERE… TO GET YOU WHEN YOU WEREN'T WAKING UP…?" I rather wished Dream was still holding me up; I might black out. That was a long time ago. A _very long _time ago. Papyrus must have noticed my intense stress and quickly assured— "I KEPT MY HEAD DOWN, IT WASN'T DANGEROUS! I MOSTLY COLLECTED KEYS AT FIRST, OR JUST SETTLED LITTLE CONFLICTS. THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME I ENGAGED SOMEONE LIKE…" Seeing my confusion, he trailed off.

"'keys'?" I questioned. Papyrus reached for his yellow belt and unhooked a small keyring.

"IT'S MAGIC, SEE?"

He then flipped a key around the wire loop. As it reached the back of the circle and collided with the next key, it suddenly changed color and design. I blinked, shaking my head a bit to try and clear it. Papyrus did it again. It happened, again. So, while somehow maintaining only seven keys on the loop at a time, he quickly flicked through about forty.

"THEY ALL FIT INTO ANY LOCK," he explained, "AND WHEN YOU OPEN THE DOOR, IT OPENS TO THE KEY'S WORLD!" _that's a lot of universes he has access to, _my mind numbly pointed out.

"where do they all come from?" I breathed.

"ONE APPEARS EACH TIME I STEP INTO A NEW WORLD!" Papyrus explained. "YOU CAN ACTUALLY SLIP FROM ONE UNIVERSE TO ITS NEIGHBOR— ONCE YOU LEARN WHERE TO LOOK. THE FIRST I GOT WAS, WELL, OUR WORLD!"

He flipped to the white key to display. I gaped at it, mind churning, then nearly groaned out loud. I'd seen it before. The night Lark disappeared at the ski cabin— the room key had been copper, not white. But that white key was what I'd seen Paps pocket. He'd been coming back from the Multiverse that very moment when I ran into him…! _"Exploring,_" for real! It hadn't even been a lie!

"IT APPEARED IN MY POCKET WHEN WE GOT HOME," Papyrus continued, then looked uneasy. "HERE IT'S LIKE STEPPING THROUGH A MIRROR, BACK TO THE SPOT IN FRONT OF THE DOOR." He frowned. "SUPER DIZZYING…"

"but… what about that world we stayed in before coming back? and how could you know that the white key would bring you back to our world?!"

"IT SEEMS UNNAMED WORLDS DON'T HAVE KEYS," Papyrus admitted. "OR THE DOODLE SPHERE. THAT'S WHY I BORROWED THE PORTAL PENDANT, SO I COULD GET A KEY TO AN OUTSIDE WORLD. AND… HOME, I DON'T KNOW, I JUST… KNEW, SOMEHOW."

"you just _knew?"_ I prompted.

"INSTINCT OF SORTS. LIKE THE HEALING SHIELD! AND TURNING ATTACKS BLUE— I DIDN'T KNOW I COULD DO THAT BEFORE! IT'S ALL NEW! AND THE GRAVITY WING THINGS DON'T FLY LIKE YOURS, BUT I CAN TURN AND NAVIGATE AND— IT'S ALL NEW AND SPECIAL, I COULDN'T DO IT BEFORE I CAME TO THE MULTIVERSE. I TRULY THINK I BELONG THERE!"

After a moment of dumbfounded silence, I started pacing. This had me infinitely stressed. These abilities had formed once he entered the Multiverse. They were MV specific abilities. That meant… he was meant for the Multiverse. He did belong there, just like me.

"no. no, you need to stay home, paps." Papyrus appeared hurt.

"NO WAY! WHY?"

"it's not safe," I ordered, inwardly panicking. Indignant, Papyrus huffed.

"IT'S NOT SAFE, BUT YOU GO!" I lost an exasperated sigh of my own.

"i'm doing this to protect you, papyrus!"

"I DON'T NEED PROTECTING!" he argued. "I'M NEARLY AS STRONG AS YOU AND HAVE WAY MORE HP. I'VE ALREADY PROVEN I CAN HANDLE MYSELF!"

"you refuse to fight. you have to fight!"

"I _DO _FIGHT! I DON'T _KILL_! YOU HAVEN'T NEEDED TO KILL ANYONE. I COULD FIGHT WITH YOU! WHY WON'T YOU LET ME?! I WANNA BE LIKE YOU AND GO—"

"no, i don't want you to become like me! you're more than that, and it isn't worth it!"

"WORTH WHAT? WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?! ANY DANGER OR LOSS IS WORTH IT TO HELP OTHERS, AT ANY COST—"

"even if it costs you _yourself?!" _

Papyrus was quite surprised. I noticed him silently mouth my words and blink confusedly. I instantly regretted saying so much; my smart brother would understand. Something inside withered as his expression changed. Hesitantly, he pinged my soul and checked my stats. I couldn't remember the last time I felt this kind of shame.

"paps… it's not… it's not just killing. it's… the ability of inflicting hurt on others." Papyrus found the stat. His eyes widened. "i know you think us good guys don't have levels of violence— i didn't think so either! but it's not that simple." I managed to hold the tremble out of my sigh, desperate that he'd understand. "please. i'm trying to _protect_ you. i don't want you to lose your innocence, to lose your love, just because you gained lov. please, stop asking me to let you do this. please."

Papyrus hugged me. I was not prepared for such a prompt action of forgiveness, I confess, and didn't react. And then, to my absolute, mind numbing shock… my LV began to drain away. I couldn't fathom what was happening.

"WE'RE NOT LIMITED TO THE FIRST OR SECOND CHANCE, YOU TAUGHT ME THAT," he chided lightly. "WHATEVER THERE IS TO FORGIVE, I FORGIVE YOU!— BUT YOU HAVE TO FORGIVE YOURSELF, TOO!" Uninvited tears tinted my sight. I didn't deserve any slack, any understanding for any mistakes I'd made— certainly not from the purest, kindest soul in the Multiverse! Yet, as the LV melted away, it didn't feel as though I had to fight it anymore. And I realized what his ability was.

Battles had been growing easier, because, Papyrus had been restoring peace. He was draining Levels of Violence in the Multiverse. His power was _second_ _chances_.

It wasn't long before I returned to the Doodle Sphere, hesitantly, but finally acceptingly, _with _Papyrus. The three Star Sanses waited expectantly, curiously. There was a moment of silence. I glanced at Paps. He seemed excited and nervous, sheepishly glancing between the three Protectors, not sure he belonged in this elite group.

"go on," I encouraged, earning his attention. Paps turned his gaze back to Ink.

"DO I HAVE… A MULTIVERSE NAME…?" A grin spread across Ink's face.

"I can find out," he replied, and after the slightest nod from me, pulled open Papyrus's code and began reading. It must have felt an eternity for Papyrus, but in reality, it was merely ten or so seconds later, Ink announced— "Eiro." Papyrus gave a delighted gasp and a short giggle of joy. I released a soft, resigned, yet at-peace sigh. Appropriate.

"well, paps," I admitted, "it seems you were right." Papyrus seemed positively overwhelmed all was going so well; he was currently speechless. Noting Ink's slight frown and Dream's and Blue's exchanged glances of equal confusion, I clarified— "eiro; greek. the verb meaning peace, to chain or bind together that what has been broken or divided." They blinked at me. I shrugged. "we've already established i'm a nerd, guys. i know, like, three and a half languages."

"So," Ink mused, "you're chill with this?" I shrugged.

"paps is right; he can look out for himself. already has been. he's been draining the lv of the multiverse." The gaping expressions of shock surprised a chuckle from me. I smiled lightly up at Papyrus as I admitted— "i may have somewhat underestimated him." This apparently endowed a dash of courage on my brother. Glancing between the Star Sanses, still rather timid, Papyrus hesitantly asked.

"I WAS WONDERING… WOULD… IS IT ALR—" With a sudden giggle of delight, Blueberry cut Papyrus off with a tight hug, quickly joined by a chuckling Dream and Ink.

"You're always welcome here!"

Papyrus's smile melted the last of his fear away. He was happy.


End file.
